Masyanya, the mischievous and witty heroine of an animated series online, is widely popular among Russian speakers. More than a million people are subscribed to the cartoon’s YouTube channel.
However, the latest episode devoted to the war in Ukraine has brought both praise and threats. Soon after the episode was published, Russian authorities banned it and asked the cartoon’s creator, Oleg Kuvaev, to remove it from his website because it “discredits the Russian Federation’s armed forces”.
The BBC has spoken to Oleg Kuvaev, who emigrated from Russia to Israel years ago and says “there is no way to laugh about the war”.
Video journalist: Anastassia Zlatopolskai
