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A Florida woman with the same name as the daughter of a top Russian official has been targeted on social media for weeks amid Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Ekaterina Lavrova, who is from Russia but now works as a realtor in a community near Miami, said that people have been harassing her after mistaking her for the daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, WSVN reported.
"It sounds silly, but like I would never imagine that I would be in a situation like that," she told the station.
Russia's attack on Ukraine late last month sparked condemnation from most countries, particularly at the Russian leaders connected to it. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has been directly sanctioned by the U.S. and Europe alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and various oligarchs connected to Putin.
Lavrova, in this case of mistaken identity, has experienced firsthand some of the outrage directed at the leadership behind Russia's invasion.
She told WSVN that she has received hateful messages on several platforms, as well as similar phone calls. The messages have continued to arrive as the Russia-Ukraine conflict drags on.
In a Treasury Department news release on the sanctions against Putin, Lavrov and other Russian officials, the department described the foreign minister as someone who has helped "facilitate Russia's aggressive actions against sovereign states and enabled Russia to degrade democracy globally."
Lavrova said that people have told her to "burn in hell," that she should be deported and that she should be kicked out of her apartment so that someone from Ukraine can stay there, WSVN reported.
"Every day you think it's going to get better, it doesn't stop," she was quoted by WSVN.
A search for Lavrova's name on Twitter confirmed that she has been frequently linked back to Lavrov. In a Twitter post on Thursday, one user, in reference to Lavrova, said that Lavrov's "biological daughter" was a real estate agent in Florida and asked when she would be sanctioned and ousted from the U.S.
Several tweets, including another one from last Thursday, have linked back directly to Lavrova's real estate website or page on Realtor.com.
"They make a post on Twitter, on Facebook or on Instagram, and they say, 'This is his daughter. Let's go attack her,'" Lavrova told WSVN.
The online harassment has led Lavrova to grow concerned for her and her family's physical safety as well.
"All it takes is one crazy person to come and do something, and God knows what can they do," she told the station.
Lavrova declined to offer any additional comments to Newsweek.
Follow Newsweek's live blog for updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Update 03/16/22, 5:45 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background.
About the writer
Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more