Poland Is Taking Apple Selfies To Annoy Putin

Despite the fact that Vladimir Putin's approval ratings are at an all-time high in Russia, other countries continue to be, um, unhappy with him. In retaliation against the U.S. and the EU's sanctions against Russia's state-owned banks, weapons makers, and oil companies, Putin has banned all fruits and vegetables imported from EU member state Poland. As a result, one of the healthiest protests to date has hit social media: Polish people are eating apples in defiance of Putin, and posting the evidence on Twitter and Facebook.

Putin's ban is a harsh blow, as Poland is the world's largest apple exporter, and according to Reuters, 56 percent of Poland's exported apples went to Russia in 2013. That means Putin is taking a big bite out of Poland's market by banning imports to Russia, and he even threatened to extend the ban to the entire EU.

The Polish are not taking the news sitting down. Nope, they're fighting back, even if the most they can accomplish is irritating Putin a little. In response to the ban, Polish people have started posting pictures of themselves eating apples on Twitter with the hashtag #jedzjabłka, which translates to #eatapples. They've even started a Facebook page called Jedz Jablka Na Zlosc Putinowi, which means "Eat Apples to Annoy Putin." Simple, straightforward, and it'll keep the doctor away.

Even players from Poland's GKS Tychy ice hockey team participated:

Along with major Polish grocery chain POLOmarket:

And head of Poland's National Security Bureau Stanisław Koziej:

Images: Jakub Krupa/Twitter, POLOmarket/Facebook (2)