World3 min(s) read
Published 14:06 17 Aug 2026 GMT
Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to declare war on adult content creators, cracking down on models based in Russia.
OnlyFans shot to fame during the Covid-19 pandemic despite being founded in 2016 - with over 370 million users and north of four million creators, the platform has exploded.
Many aren't the biggest fans of the platform and what it has become, with many creators selling NSFW content to fans on the website.
Putin is seemingly one of the critics, as he looks to bring Russia back to its "traditional" values, a focus for the 73-year-old following the outbreak of the Ukraine War.
Raids have been carried out across the nation, with not just stars, but producers and camera operators being punished for their involvement in the content creation.
According to local news outlet BAZA, this has been going on all year, as they said: "A wave of checks of models from OnlyFans and similar adult services is being prepared in Russia.
"Currently, law enforcement officers are actively analyzing the pages of bloggers for content aged 18+.
"Criminal cases about the production of pornography are quickly gaining defendants."
The Moscow Times further reported: "Criminal cases have started being launched in Russia for porn on OnlyFans."
Those in Russia can legally watch and store pornography; however, producing and distributing the content is illegal.
Russia isn't alone in cracking down on OnlyFans creation, as numerous other nations have outright banned the platform.
This includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, China, Turkey, and Belarus.
Critics have said that Russia is using its vague laws to target feminist groups as they push for old-fashioned values, but this hasn't stopped the Kremlin from taking legal action.
Sofya Vershinina, a 21-year-old OnlyFans model, was convicted of producing and sharing sexually explicit videos online in a Moscow court.
According to prosecutors, she had made £300,000 ($407,000) from selling videos of herself on OnlyFans and Telegram channels since January 2024.
She made so much that she was able to stay in a luxury skyscraper penthouse in Moscow, as authorities pushed for her to serve a three-and-a-half-year sentence in a Russian penal colony.
Luckily for her, she pleaded guilty and showed remorse, and was handed a three-year suspended sentence and a £45,000 ($61,000) fine.
If she breaches the strict conditions set, the suspended sentence could take effect.
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Ekaterina Mizulina, 41, is Putin's anti-porn crackdown head, as the high-profile head of Russia’s Safe Internet League and a member of Putin’s Civic Chamber.
It is rumored that the pair dated in the past, though this was never confirmed.
Mizulina, who graduated from London's School of Oriental and African Studies, advocates for harsh censorship on the internet, which saw media organisations and journalists being handed fines and jail sentences.
She is well known for having a big role in writing Russia's 'gay propaganda law' in 2013, with the piece of legislation criminalizing the display of LGBTQ+ content to minors.
Ten years on, the Russian Supreme Court branded the international LGBTQ+ movement 'extremist', with the law used as a basis, making it illegal.
