'Russia For Sale': Georgians Sell Putinland Piece By Piece In The Form Of NFTs To Help Ukraine

In a display of "virtual" support for Ukraine, a Georgian digital creative agency is "selling Russia piece by piece" in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and has so far sold 23 regions, for $18,704, denominated in the Ethereum cryptocurrency.

According to Tbilisi-based digital creative agency Leavingstone, 2,443 regions of Russia depicted on playing cards with name, size and a "weirdly authentic coat of arms" will be auctioned in the first phase.

"We saw a huge potential in it -- that the majority [of people] would want to be involved in Russia's partition," Leavingstone co-founder Levan Lefsveridze was quoted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

There will be three planned phases of the "Russia For Sale" project and the potential buyers can choose their parcel of land from an interactive map.

Reports added that the proceeds from the bid, aimed mainly at "trolling Russian President Vladimir Putin," will be used to rebuild Ukraine. The firm has also promised to transfer all proceeds to the digital wallet of Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation.

In the second phase of the project, NFTs representing major Russian architecture, including the Kremlin and the lavish "Putin Palace" that reportedly cost upward of $1 billion to construct on the Black Sea coast will be put for auction. A third phase will auction off "Lenin himself," a digital version of the "stuffed granddaddy of the red revolution," the report added.

Lefsveridze told the news outlet that a team of 10 to 15 people took a little over a month to realize the project. "As an answer to Russian imperialist aggression, we decided to sell Russia's territories for good!" the project's website says. "Putin is known for grabbing other countries' lands. So, let's give him the taste of his own medicine," he added.

The "Russia For Sale" project is the latest in the growing list of digital fund-raisers being conducted across the world to help Ukraine and its agencies rebuild and counter Russia. According to crypto asset tracker Elliptic, tens of millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency donations have already been poured into Ukraine since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24.

Besides, the Ukrainian Ministry for Digital Transformation has also launched its own NFT sales drive under the title "Meta History Museum Of War." It is a timeline of NFT artwork depicting moments captured in tweets or other social media posts by notable Ukrainians, institutions, or international media. It also cooperates with NGO Noosphere's #ArtForLife project, which aims to raise $500,000 for the defense of Ukraine.