Russia is closing the US consulate that won a trolling Twitter poll
- Russia is closing a US consulate that won a Twitter poll.
- The poll was sent out by the Russian embassy in what looked like a sarcastic tweet.
- Closing the American consulate in St. Petersburg comes after the US closed a Russian consulate in Seattle in response to the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the UK.
Russia is responding to the expulsion of its diplomats from the US and the closure of its consulate in Seattle by closing the American consulate in St. Petersburg - and they may have chosen that location based on a Twitter poll.
The US announced on Monday that it would be shutting down the Russian consulate in Seattle because of its proximity to a Navy nuclear arsenal. In response, the Russian Embassy put out a condescending tweet asking people which American consulate it should shut down in Russia.
47% of respondents chose the consulate in St. Petersburg - and it looks like Russia is following through with Twitter users' wishes.
The dueling consulate closures come after the US expelled 60 Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK, which has accused Russia of poisoning former Russian spy Sergei Skripal earlier this month. Skripal was reportedly exposed to a deadly nerve agent called Novichok in Salisbury, UK.
His daughter Yulia, who was also poisoned, is reportedly conscious, but her father remains in a coma.