On August 29, the founder of the Men's State public, Vladislav Pozdnyakov, demanded an apology from the Tanuki restaurant for using black models in advertising and called on his supporters to attack the company on its website.
According to the leader of the movement, such advertising "imposes alien values" on Russians.
Pozdnyakov urged to underestimate the ratings of the restaurant chain in the Yandex.Eda service, as well as to make false orders for delivery and refuse to pay.
Representatives of the company said they would not apologize and will continue to upload photos with "representatives of different religions, nationalities, races and orientations" to the network.
In addition, "Tanuki" appealed to law enforcement agencies in connection with threats from supporters of the "Male State" against both the company itself and its marketing director Stanislav Koloskov.
“All applications have been submitted, and more than once.
Including applications submitted with screenshots of comments to my personal accounts, with threats, and so on.
Law enforcement agencies already have all this, ”he told RT, noting that the company did not suffer“ global losses ”after the hate.
RT tracked down one of the Africans who took part in the restaurant's advertising campaign.
According to the young man, he did not expect such a scandal to flare up around the photo session, and now he is afraid of persecution.
- How did you end up in Russia?
- I came here to study more than five years ago.
My specialization is computer science and computing.
When I get my education, I will return home to Africa and work there.
I do not plan to stay in Russia.
A big family is waiting for me at home: parents, brothers and sisters.
- How did you start working in the modeling business?
- The modeling business is not my main job.
While I study and go to the shooting only in my free time.
Most of the time I star in advertisements for clothes and shoes.
It all started when two Russian girls approached me in an African cafe in Moscow and invited me to take part in the filming.
I agreed, and for this first job I was paid 5 thousand rubles.
I was very happy because I got them in just two hours.
And the same girls then invited me to a modeling agency.
Also on russian.rt.com "Tanuki" appealed to law enforcement agencies after threats against the company.
- Have there been cases before when advertising customers were harassed because of your participation in photo shoots?
- No, this has never happened before.
In 2018, I took part in an advertising campaign for the World Cup.
My photos were on banners all over Moscow, but no one was outraged.
I've worked hard for small brands.
But this is the first time this situation has arisen.
- When the activists of the "Men's State" demanded an apology from the restaurant for placing advertisements with your participation, how did you react to this?
- I thought it was an international restaurant, so I didn't expect such a reaction.
It was a surprise for me.
Any person can come to this institution: Japanese, Russian, and black - anyone.
- Do you receive threats?
- I read on social networks that the activists of the "Men's State" will be looking for the actors who starred in this advertisement.
And so now I am very afraid.
I have only one year left to study in Russia.
It is a pity that such a problem has arisen right now.
I’m afraid that I’ll have to go home earlier without completing my studies.
If I receive threats, I plan to write a statement to the police.
But I'm not sure the police can protect me.
And the followers of the "Male State" can be anywhere I go.
Therefore, I do not want to advertise my Instagram profile and give my name.
I think I'm in danger right now.
- During the time that you live in Russia, have you encountered manifestations of racism?
- This has never happened before. I'm play soccer. When I arrived in Russia, I immediately found myself a team. There are different people there: Caucasians, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Russians. There have never been conflicts between us. I quickly found friends among them. Now, when the persecution of the restaurant began, they supported me. They constantly write, ask how I feel. I say that so far everything is fine. But I am afraid that they [supporters of the "Male State"] will declare a hunt for me.