A Russian deputy mayor has had to issue a statement explaining herself after netizens reacted to a video she shared in which she can be seen lying in the snow in a bikini and sprinkling snowflakes on her crotch.

Anna Tereshkova, 52, is the deputy mayor of the city of Novosibirsk, which is a city located in Siberia in southern Russia.

She recently shared a video online for her followers in which she can be seen lying on her back in the snow wearing a bikini and at one point she makes a snow angel.

In the footage, she can be seen grabbing handfuls of snow and sprinkling the snowflakes on her nether region.

The footage reportedly went viral and quickly drew international attention, causing the politician to issue a statement explaining her actions after people took to the Internet to criticise her.

One netizen said: “If a schoolteacher had posted this, they would already have been fired.”

Another netizen said: “Teachers would be fired for such photos but people in Novosibirsk can. Disgusting.”

While another netizen said: “It would be better if the deputy mayor took care of the roads rather than posting this.”

But Tereshkova has since defended her actions and said that she does not see anything wrong with what she has done.

She said: “This is my tradition. I love to go and bathe myself in the snow and in all weather conditions.”