Paint attack leaves Putin's opponent with 'green face', but he makes it work

Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was attacked with green dye by an unknown assailant in the Siberian city of Barnaul, which left him looking like a character out of 'Shrek', but taking the matter in his stride the opposition leader has made the best of the situation and is garnering massive support across the globe now.

Navalny was doused with a bright green liquid by an unknown assailant who had pretended to shake his hand, reports the New York Times.

Taking to his Facebook page, Navalny confessed that he initially feared an acid attack after feeling a burning sensation, but was considerably relieved when he realized that the bright green liquid not only would not harm him.

He even posed for selfies with him team and the stunt set Twitter on fire, as people began painting their faces green to show their support for the politician.

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!"

Interestingly, being attacked with green substances is not uncommon for Putin's outspoken opponents, as last month, Mikhail M. Kasyanov was attacked with green paint.

After the Siberia incident, some Navalny supporters showed solidarity by painting their faces green and posting on Twitter.

"This strange assumption of the Kremlin: to pour brilliant green on me so that I don't travel around the country and call rallies. It's way cooler that way. Barnaul and Biysk volunteers (where we are opening two campaign headquarters these days) will get the most stylish selfies ever, and I'll be the star of any rally," Navalny wrote on Facebook.