Why are Russians using bloody make-up to tackle domestic abuse?

Thousands of Russians have taken to social media to call on the government to table and pass a domestic violence bill as soon as possible.

Human rights activists Alena Popova and Alexandra Mitroshina launched the campaign urging social media users to post images of themselves with the hashtag #янехотелаумирать (I didn't want to die) and to sign a petition.

Many of the participants using the hashtag have followed the pair by sharing images of themselves wearing make-up depicting blood, cuts and violence.

There has a been a surge in more widespread discussions around attitudes towards abuse and domestic violence in Russia.

Alexandra Mitroshina came up with the idea for the campaign and organised the initial photo shoots. Her image on Instagram has had more than 420,000 "likes" and is among the most widely shared.