There was also, if you look in the middle of the bed, a copy of The Sims 3 along with a couple of expansions. Why highlight Maxis’ classic in a photo otherwise dedicated to showcasing Nazi paraphernalia and instruments of terrorism?

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Here’s a common and very likely explanation:

The photos were an attempt by Russian authorities to blame a cell of six suspected terrorists for a plot to kill Vladimir Solovyov, a TV presenter who fancies himself a journalist, but whose Wikipedia page labels him a “propogandist, and who has been barred from entry into the European Union and had his assets frozen for his role in broadcasting Russian propaganda.

It was alleged these six terrorists, when they weren’t playing The Sims 3, had planned to carry out the assassination with a car bomb. Having been saved by the valiant efforts of Russian police, left to work another day, Solovyov used his TV show later that night to claim that the “Nazis” had been sent by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian, TV star and actor who now...harboured a grudge against Russian television: