Russian Twitter parody account of Putin suspended

MOSCOW – Russian social media users are voicing their outrage at Twitter’s decision to suspend popular accounts parodying President Vladimir Putin and other officials.

Several Twitter accounts, such as @DarthPutinKGB, which parodies Putin, and @SovietSergey, which mocks Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, have been unavailable since Tuesday.

The parody Putin account had attracted more than 50,000 followers before it was shut down. The link to the account said it was suspended. Lavrov’s parody account along with two others mocking the Russian Embassy in London and the Russian ambassador were restored and available to users after a reported suspension on Tuesday.

Social media users launched the #NoGulagForDarthPutinKGB hashtag on Twitter in protest.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an avid social media user, condemned the suspension, calling it “one of the funniest parody accounts around.”