British anime blogger Minjisama has been targeted by thousands of Russian Instagram users who claim he is the double of jailed blogger Arsen Markaryan.
Russian social media users flooded the UK creator's profiles with thousands of ironic comments after Instagram algorithms began regularly recommending his videos in Russia around early summer 2026.
Minjisama, who has nearly 700,000 combined followers across Instagram and TikTok, creates content centered on anime and its characters. He gained much of his popularity by cosplaying Blackbeard, a character from the manga and anime series One Piece.
Despite having no connection to Russia, commenters noted that the influencer bears a striking physical resemblance to Markaryan, featuring a thick dark beard, a dense head of hair, a stocky build, and dark eyes.
By mid-summer 2026, comments in Russian under Minjisama's posts grew into the thousands, with users jokingly congratulating him on getting out of prison and suggesting he had found a new entertainment niche while pretending to forget Russian.
Russian Social Media Raid on UK Influencer
Users urged him to stop messing around and return to the Russian-speaking web space to record a new podcast. Followers jokingly called for a general assembly of officers, using the title Markaryan previously gave his subscribers, and posted reminders of online memes surrounding the controversial figure.
Among the references were jokes about Markaryan's attempt to flee Russia in the trunk of a car, with users declaring his video to be an alternate reality where police failed to check the vehicle. Others asked him for advice on entering a prison cell, referred to him as Karabas Barabas, and remarked that every country appears to have its own version of Markaryan.
Commenters also targeted specific videos, describing his appearance at an anime convention as a prison gathering of his follower base. When Minjisama posted a clip wearing socks with sandals, users claimed he had exposed his true identity because only people in Russia wear slippers with socks. A hospital video prompted fans to express mock concern and plead with him not to die.
The comment section drew both supporters and detractors of Markaryan, though commentators emphasized that the trend was intended as lighthearted humor rather than praise for the jailed influencer. Some users advised the British blogger not to take the remarks to heart, reassuring him that they were simply fooling around.
UK Content Creator Denies Links to Jailed Figure
Minjisama initially expressed confusion and denied any resemblance, asking his audience if he was expected to translate all of their comments and pleading with them to stop because he was not the Russian criminal. He admitted that he had previously believed Russians did not use Instagram.
Addressing his audience, Minjisama explained that after seeing numerous comments claiming he had left prison, he Googled Markaryan and wanted to clarify that he was from England. However, users mocked his denial, writing that Markaryan was trying to prove he was not himself and joking that prison had changed him. Russian blogger Denis Kosyakov joined the comments, jokingly declaring that the creator was obviously Arsen Markarjan rather than Arsen Markaryan.
Commenters warned him that resisting Russian social media attention was futile, pointing to actor Jason Statham whose Instagram posts have been flooded with ironic Russian proverbs and jokes for years. Russian users have previously staged similar comment raids on the accounts of singer Lady Gaga in 2019, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, former US President Joe Biden, and actor Vin Diesel.
In an effort to persuade his audience, Minjisama posted a video speaking Russian profanity to insist he was not Arsen. Users responded by telling him not to be ashamed of his past and offered grammatical corrections to his Russian swearing. One user joked that Markaryan had been transferred to Birmingham because living in Birmingham was a harsher punishment.
As the interaction continued, users noted that Minjisama had begun adding hashtags containing Markaryan's name to his posts, suggesting he was leveraging the sudden surge in attention. Minjisama eventually released a video dressed in anime costume where he jokingly declared himself the new leader of his Russian followers.
Controversial Online Career of Arsen Markaryan
The real Arsen Markaryan is an info-businessman and blogger originally from Samara, Russia, who built an online following by selling courses, hosting webinars, and recording podcasts aimed at male audiences. His content focused on self-development, nutrition, health, career building, and relationships.
Markaryan also ran a private Telegram channel costing roughly 1,500 rubles per month, which accumulated more than 60,000 subscribers by early July 2024. Followers referred to him as their leader or commander-in-chief, while calling themselves officers, and claimed his guidance helped men overcome depression and achieve career success.
However, Markaryan gained wider notoriety for provocative statements regarding women, praising patriarchal cultures while describing modern Western women as professional betrayers and manipulators. In one widely circulated statement, he claimed that difficulty in childbirth was due to a woman misusing her body rather than physical complexity.
Critics accused him of misogyny, promoting unscientific health practices including questionable dietary supplements, and exploiting followers' self-doubt for financial gain. He also faced online accusations of pedophilia following a video discussing relationships with underage girls, which he later claimed was satire.
Markaryan became the subject of widespread internet memes, with online users comparing his appearance to the dwarf Gimli from The Lord of the Rings. He was also parodied after a dramatic interview response in which he claimed he was raised in absolute freedom when asked about childhood corporal punishment.
Criminal Charges and Prison Sentence in Russia
Markaryan's legal trouble escalated in March 2025 when Russian authorities initiated a preliminary investigation into public calls for terrorist activities. In August 2025, after returning to Russia from abroad where he resided permanently, Markaryan was arrested and charged with insulting the memory of Defenders of the Fatherland.
The criminal prosecution stemmed from a video in which Markaryan expressed a contemptuous attitude toward the memory of Alexander Matrosov, a Hero of the Soviet Union who performed a celebrated feat during World War Two, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War.
Law enforcement officials stated that Markaryan was apprehended near the border with Belarus while being driven by a friend, alleging he attempted to hide in the trunk of the car beneath a deflated inflatable boat. Markaryan denied hiding in the vehicle trunk.
In March 2026, Markaryan entered a full guilty plea and was sentenced to four and a half years in a penal colony. His defense team attempted to appeal the verdict, but the sentence was upheld by the court.
