During Russias surreptitious invasion of Crimea, much was made of the little green men, soldiers without insignia who turned out to be Russian regulars.
On Monday there was a new green man albeit one of a decidedly different political hue the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was doused with a bright green liquid in the Siberian city of Barnaul by an unknown assailant who had pretended to shake his hand.
Mr. Navalny wrote on his Facebook page that he initially feared an acid attack after feeling a burning sensation. But relief appears to have given way to exaltation after he realized that the bright green liquid not only would not harm him, but even made him look like a superhero in his eyes, anyway. He can be seen mugging for the camera in a selfie taken after the fact.
Referring to masked heroes in Hollywood films in a post on Twitter, he wrote: I will be opening a headquarters in Barnaul as if I am from the film The Mask! Cool. Even my teeth are green!
Mr. Navalny, a charismatic critic of President Vladimir V. Putin, was a major driver of large street protests in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and has irked the Kremlin by shining a light on corruption. His bid to run for president of Russia was effectively derailed in February when a Russian court revived a four-year-old criminal conviction for defrauding a state company.
But he has continued to campaign, with his supporters saying the charges against him are politically motivated.
It turns out that being attacked with green substances is something of an occupational hazard for outspoken opponents of Mr. Putin. Late last month, Mikhail M. Kasyanov, another Putin critic, was spattered with green paint at a march in memory of the politician Boris Nemtsov, who was shot and killed on a Moscow bridge two years ago.
After the Siberia incident, some Navalny supporters showed solidarity by painting their faces green and posting on Twitter (Alexey, Kazan headquarters is with you! We support!), and one prominent blogger was detained after being seen on Red Square with his face and hands painted green.
