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Two female Russian athletes, Tatyana Firova and Kseniya Ryzhova, shared a kiss after winning the 4×400-meter relay at the World Athletics Championships Saturday. Then they kissed again during the award ceremony.

Might not sound like a big deal to you, or maybe it’s something that’ll get you excited, but the two females knew what they were doing. It’s being speculated that the kiss was really a jab at the country’s anti-gay law, as local media questioned whether it was a political gesture or simply a congratulatory kiss.

Either way, it’s making headlines.

Neither athlete has released a statement but Gay Star News notes, the Russian athletes’ kiss does violate the anti-gay law passed by Russia’s parliament earlier this year. So the two women could, theoretically, be prosecuted for their PDA since it could be perceived as propagating non-traditional sexual relations.

Meanwhile, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko addressed the commotion over Russia’s “gay propaganda” law Sunday, blaming the media for blowing it out of proportion.

“I think this is kind of an invented problem,” he told reporters during a press conference, according to Reuters. “We don’t have a law banning non-traditional sexual relations, we have a different law.”

Mutko is of course referring to the calls for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics that will be held in Sochi. Russian authorities recently confirmed that athletes and spectators visiting the Russian city will be required to abide by the country’s laws, including its anti-gay legislation.

SOURCE: Huffington Post | Photo Credit: Getty