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Among the strangest things to happen during the COVID-19 pandemic was the rise of OnlyFans.

Founded in 2016 and now boasting over four million creators and 370million registered users, the site is widely used by adult entertainment stars who sell their content to paying customers.

But not everyone is happy about the site's mass adoption.

In recent years, Vladimir Putin has been leading a crusade against OnlyFans models in Russia.

The crackdown is part of a broader push to return Russian to its 'traditional' values, which has ramped up massively since the invasion of Ukraine.

Raids have taken place up and down the country, targeting OnlyFans stars as well as producers and camera operators who help create racy videos.

BAZA, a Russian news outlet, reported earlier this year: 'A wave of checks of models from OnlyFans and similar adult services is being prepared in Russia.

'Currently, law enforcement officers are actively analysing the pages of bloggers for content aged 18+.

President Vladimir Putin has been leading a crusade against OnlyFans models in Russia

Sofya Vershinina (pictured) was arrested and convicted of producing and sharing sexually explicit videos online

OnlyFans star Anastasia Ovsyannikova, 24, was arrested in June by Russian authorities

Diana Shurygina (pictured) faces six years in a Russian jail

'Criminal cases about the production of pornography are quickly gaining defendants.'

The Moscow Times, meanwhile, reported: 'Criminal cases have started being launched in Russia for porn on OnlyFans.'

In Russia, it is legal to watch and store pornography. However, it is illegal to produce and distribute it.

Russia is one of many countries to have cracked down on sites like OnlyFans. The service is restricted or outright banned in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, China, Turkey, and Belarus, as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

In India, users can view content on the platform but citizens are not allowed to put content on it.

But critics of Russia say that the Kremlin is using its vague laws as a pretext to selectively target dissidents and feminist groups as it continues its push for traditional values.

In July, a Moscow court convicted 21-year-old Sofya Vershinina of producing and sharing sexually explicit videos online.

Prosecutors said she made £300,000 from selling videos of herself on OnlyFans and Telegram channels since January 2024.

Sofya, also known as Sonya Marmeladova, earned so much she was able to stay in an elite skyscraper penthouse in Moscow.

Authorities demanded the OnlyFans star be sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a Russian penal colony.

But after she pleaded guilty and expressed remorse over her career, she instead only received a three-year suspended sentence, as well as a £45,000 fine.

Sofya was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to her charges

Diana has been placed under house arrest following the accusations

Her suspended sentence could take effect if she breaches the strict conditions.

Though her gold iPhone 16 Pro Max remains with authorities, her sex toys and accessories that had been taken as part of the investigation were returned to her.

OnlyFans star Anastasia Ovsyannikova, 24, was arrested in June on suspicion of the illegal production and dissemination of pornography.

Anastasia, who also goes by Nastya Kholod, spent time as a model before she became an adult actress.

She was arrested alongside German producer Ludwig Kritschker, 30. His residence was searched and his production equipment was seized.

Anastasia was known for making explicit videos with Diana Shurygina, another OnlyFans creator who was also arrested in Russia for her work.

Diana, 27, faces six years in a Russian jail after the Kremlin accused her of selling explicit content on OnlyFans.

In June, police raided her flat, seizing sex toys, cameras and other pieces of filming equipment.

She was arrested after returning from a long stay in Bali, Indonesia, with local media reporting that she attempted to flee back to the southeast Asian nation before she was detained.

She has since been placed under house arrest as prosecutors build their case against her.

Diana became a public figure after she appeared on Russian television at just 17 to reveal she had been the victim of a rape the previous year.

Anastasia, who also goes by Nastya Kholod, spent time as a model before she became an adult actress

She was arrested alongside German producer Ludwig Kritschker

She said that while she was celebrating a friend's birthday, Sergei Semenov - then 21 - locked himself in a room with her, before beating her up and raping her.

The case led to Semenov being jailed for eight years. His sentence was later reduced to three years and three months, before he was released on parole a year later.

Putin's anti-porn lieutenant taking charge of the crackdown is 41-year-old Ekaterina Mizulina, the high-profile head of Russia’s Safe Internet League and a member of Putin’s Civic Chamber.

She is rumoured to have been in a romantic relationship with Putin two years ago.

Mizulina, a graduate of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, advocates for harsh censorship on the internet, which has resulted in fines and jail terms against media organisations and journalists.

Her authoritarian streak goes back a long way, as she played a crucial role in writing Russia's notorious 'gay propaganda' law in 2013.

That piece of legislation criminalised the display of LGBTQ+ content to minors. Ten years later, it formed the basis of a decision by Russia's Supreme Court to brand the international LGBTQ+ movement 'extremist', effectively making it illegal.

In June, she reported 22-year-old reality TV star Anastasia Bragina for filming herself walking naked through Moscow.

Bragina, who was charged with the 'dissemination of pornography among children', was held in prison for 14 days. Upon her release, she was rearrested on more serious charges of 'distribution, display, or public demonstration of pornography through social networks, messaging apps, or websites.'

OnlyFans - whose former majority was a Ukrainian citizen who donated £3.71million to relief charities in the country following Russia's invasion - temporarily banned Russian creators and customers from the service in 2022.

Rolling Stone reported that, following wide-ranging economic sanctions placed on Russia, the service locked people out of their accounts.

One message sent by OnlyFans to creators read: 'Please be informed that your country is not supported for payouts, therefore we are unable to assist you regarding that matter at this time.'

The firm later backtracked on this move, with a spokesman saying: 'Their accounts will have full functionalities as long as we continue to have payment methods to support them.

'We were not terminating or suspending any creator accounts based on the creator’s location, and we are doing everything we can to support our community.'

Alana Evans, the president of the adult performers’ union Adult Performers’ Artists Guild (APAG) said at the time: 'I’m heartbroken for them because I can imagine how difficult things may be.

'Politics aside, they are people.'