As luxury brand Chanel cuts off sale to Russia, Russian social media influencers are cutting up the brand – literally taking scissors to their handbags.

Chanel closed its stores in Russia in March to comply with European Union sanctions that ban the sale to Russia of luxury goods priced at more than $327. Chanel's handbags often go for thousands. 

Russian influencers and socialites who claim this is an act of Russianphobia are boycotting the brand and posting videos to Instagram ruining their Chanel bags. 

Russian TV host and actor Marina Ermoshkina told USA TODAY that she was the first one to start the challenge for Russian influencers to cut up their Chanel handbags. 

"To make Russian women, who are trying to make a purchase in their store outside territory of former Soviet Union, sign a humiliating document, that they have nothing to do with Russia, and to insist that they prove that, as well as get them to promise they will never wear this items on Russian territory in my view is a total contradiction to the modern world’s values," Ermoshkina wrote in a statement to USA TODAY.

Ermoshkina has 300,000 followers on Instagram. She uploaded a video to her social channels on Wednesday where she is destroying a Chanel handbag with garden shears. 

Other influencers started to join Ermoshkina. Russian model Victoria Bonya showed her 9.3 million followers on Instagram how she cut her Chanel bag to pieces.

"If Chanel House does not respect its clients, why do we have to respect Chanel House?" Bonya says in her video. 

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She caption her video with the hashtag "bye bye CHANEL"

DJ Katya Guseva joined when she destroyed her Chanel with scissors. She posted the video Tuesday, followed by a statement where she reprimands the brand.

"I am against Russophobia, I am against the brand, which supports Russophobia and discrimination against women based on nationality. We Russian girls are beautiful whether we have a Chanel bag or not," she wrote.

Many government, sports and other agencies from across the world have implemented bans or sanctions on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Thursday, the U.N. General Assembly approved a U.S.-initiated resolution to suspend Russia from the world organization’s Human Rights Council.

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