2025-02-19
19 分钟Moscow Red Square, the historic heart of the Russian capital.
As on most days,
tourists are milling around taking pictures of the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral.
Suddenly, a commotion erupts on one side of the square.
Camera phones swivel away from the famous landmarks towards an astonishing, unexpected sight.
A group of nine children, barely in their teens,
are swiftly moving across the cobblestones in the line.
Their faces are partially covered by animal masks.
Some are foxes, others are cats.
Several have bushy fake tails trailing behind them.
But even more striking than what they're wearing is what they're doing.
Instead of running on two legs, they're bent over, scampering along on all fours.
The scene I'm describing is
from a TikTok video made part of a youth craze which has taken Russia by storm.
Quadrobics is a form of exercise which involves walking on all fours,
using your hands as your front legs.
But quadrobas, as enthusiasts are known, don't just copy the way animals move.
They also dress up a bit like them.
However, the explosion in the popularity of quadrobics has also sparked a moral panic.
Religious leaders have condemned quadrobics as dehumanising,