Russian national will use sales of her burning passport NFT to support Ukraine
Olive Allen, a Russian national and artist who has lived in the United States for more than 11 years, has burned her mother country’s passport in the hopes of raising awareness and funds related to the military conflict in Ukraine.
Speaking to Cointelegraph on Friday, Allen described herself as “a child of new Russia” and said the country would always be a part of her identity, but she had chosen to cut ties with it based on its recent actions in the Ukraine. Standing in front of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York City, Allen burned her Russian passport — which she said was the only copy she had — and planned to auction the video as a nonfungible token, with the proceeds going to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
“I do not consider Putin’s Russia my home,” said Allen. “Our country has such an immense potential, but the government has been f–king people over for eternity.”
Allen, who has been involved in the crypto space since early 2018 following the December 2017 Bitcoin (BTC) bull run, said the decision to burn her passport was prompted by being unable to see herself ever returning to the country under its current leadership. She said she wanted to push back against the narrative that all Russian civilians were in favor of military action against Ukraine, noting she knew people in the country who were “brainwashed to the point of no return” in supporting the regime.
The auction of her burning passport NFT went live on the SuperRare marketplace on Friday. Allen said she will use funds from the sale to donate Ether (ETH) directly to Save the Children, an organization aimed at helping children around the world from issues including trafficking, early marriage, being unable to obtain an education,
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