Russian lawmaker who hung noodles on his ears to mock Putin's speech might face punishment

• A lawmaker shared a video of himself with noodles hung on his ears while watching Putin's speech.
• In Russia, the idiom "to hang noodles on someone's ears" means to tell lies.

A Russian lawmaker who hung noodles on his ears during a speech by President Vladimir Putin could face punishment.

Mikhail Abdalkin, a deputy of the Russian Duma, shared a video on social media of himself watching Putin's state of the nation address and nodding with noodles hanging off his ears.

In Russia, the idiom "to hang noodles on someone's ears" means to tell lies.

"I fully support. I agree with everything. Great speech. Haven't heard anything like that in 23 years. Pleasantly surprised," he wrote in the caption, according to a translation by the UK newspaper The Telegraph.

In the two-hour speech on Tuesday, Putin blamed the West and Ukraine for the war and promised a Russian "victory."

Abdalkin's act was a rare moment of defiance, as Russia has made criticizing the war illegal, and people have been jailed or fined for it.

A spokesman for the Russian Communist Party, Alexander Yushchenko, said on Thursday that the party would be investigating the noodle video and "won't leave it without attention," The Telegraph reported.

Russian journalist and politician Alexander Khinshtein criticized Abdalkin's move.

"This is an odd, to put it mildly, escapade which would be more suitable for a Ukrainian, not a Russian lawmaker," Khinshtein said, according to The Telegraph.

"I do hope the Communist Party's leadership will get him in line – that is, if their pledges to support the president and rally behind him are not just words."