- Well that escalated quickly.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is new to Instagram, and she's already getting inundated by comments from Russian trolls.
- Launched on Wednesday, the verified "bundeskanzlerin" Instagram account has only posted a few dozen photos. But other users were quick to subscribe: So far, Merkel has almost 30,000 Instagram fans. And a lot of them have Russian names.
- The first image posted on the account shows Merkel and some of her aides preparing for a European Council session in Brussels. A look at the comments underneath reveals that most of them are either in Russian or by users with Russian account names.
- "Russians don't surrender, Russians will not be defeated," writes one user, while another references a scene in Hitler's bunker. Yet another Instagram commenter threatens that Russians "will soon be in Berlin again."
- A file photo of Merkel meeting former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev also attracted a significant number of Russian commenters. Here, however, they focused on different views of Gorbachev's role in his country's history, from traitor to hero.
- Instagram is particularly popular in Russia, with many users sharing photos numerous times each day. And compared to prominent Russian politicians, Merkel is decidedly late to the party.
- Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a keen amateur photographer, has been on Instagram for years, amassing 1.2 million followers. And Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's Instagram feed is famous for its mix of macho selfies and occasional horse photos.
Bundeskanzlerin Angela #Merkel, der französische Präsident François #Hollande und der russische Präsident Wladimir #Putin sitzen spät nachts nach Verhandlungen über die Beendigung des #Ukraine-Konfliks in #Moskau in einem Bus, der Merkel und Hollande zum Flughafen bringt. 06/02/2015. #toppics, #Minsk- But while a photo of Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande is one of the most-liked on the chancellor's new Instagram feed at almost 500 likes, another image has attracted an outpouring of abuse. It shows Merkel in conversation with Petro Poroshenko, the president of Ukraine.
- On Thursday morning, social media staff appeared to be struggling to delete the offensive replies, which included sexual harassment and comparisons with the Nazi regime. Comments underneath other images also include repeated Russian-language insults, targeting Merkel's political views as well as her physical appearance and German-U.S. relations.
- It is unclear whether these messages were posted by individual Instagram users or if they are the work of organised Kremlin trolls. Some users even appeared to notice the abundance of Russian messages: "Hahaha - Russian Instagram," one of them commented on the latest post.
