ENCIRCLED by armed police, a frightened young woman is trying to prove her innocence. It’s useless. But in the end, everything turns out to be alright: the woman is not actually being interrogated for drug possession — she’s about to be proposed to. This is all part of a bigger trend, which is gaining massive popularity in Russia at the moment: extreme marriage proposals.

It’s Aug. 8 and Anastasia lands at Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg. Her boyfriend, Sergei, was supposed to pick her up, but he has other plans, so instead, a friend collects her.

Anastasia and her companion are just about to leave when a black minibus with tinted windows pulls up behind them. Armed men with balaclavas jump out of the car. Their uniform looks very similar to that of the Russian special unit SpezNas.

They storm Anastasia’s car, open the door, and pull the young blonde out of the car. They search her bag and make a serious discovery: a thick package of white powder that looks a lot like cocaine. One of them shouts: “What is this?” Anastasia, who is visibly shocked, can only respond: “You must be mistaken. That’s not mine!”

But the uniformed men are not convinced, adding: “You’re suspected of supplying banned substances.” The possession of this huge amount of cocaine would mean up to 20 years of prison for the young woman.

Then, one of the men uses a knife to open the powdered package and pulls out a pink box. Suddenly, he gets down on one knee and removes his mask and shouts: “Marry me!” It’s Anastasia’s boyfriend Sergei, proposing with a shiny ring. Relieved, Anastasia falls into his arms and says yes.

The young Russian woman has fallen victim to the so-called “extreme marriage proposal,” a new type of romantic gesture that has gained a lot of popularity in Russia, thanks to the work of “The Spetsnaz (special forces) Show.”

The show, run by 36-year-old Sergei Rodkin, charges up to US$900 to organize these pranks, even hiring ex-military personnel to lend authenticity to the performances.

Anastasia’s extreme proposal at the airport, which went viral after the BBC featured it, cost roughly US$465.

When Rodkin first started in 2010, he organized the prank, free-of-charge, for friends. A year later, he turned it into a real business. Today, Rodkin operates 14 franchise companies throughout Russia.

The Spetsnaz Show has even made an appearance at children’s birthday parties and even at a company event, where the boss was kidnapped.

While Anastasia might have reacted positively, others on the show have not. According to the BBC, a woman reacted by swearing and hitting her husband on the head with a bouquet of flowers after he had organized an extreme surprise for her 30th birthday.

“People with little psychological impairment already feel very threatened. If a previous traumatic experience exists, the level of anxiety in this person is heightened by the prank,” said Thomas Herzog, a psychotherapist in Berlin.

(SD-Agencies)