Women of Kazakhstan took to the streets in protest at the ban, dubbing their campaign as ‘Panties For President.’
The protests reached a new high of intensity when 30 women were arrested for chanting ‘freedom to panties’ and wearing lace knickers on their heads.
The campaign comes following the ruling that bans shops from selling underwear containing less than 6% cotton- with authorities claiming that lacy underwear doesn’t ‘absorb enough moisture’ and could therefore be harmful to women’s heath.
The ban has affected women in the former Soviet Union where shoppers are increasingly keen to snap up the latest western fashions- which includes underwear from stores such as Victoria’s Secret and La Perla.
An owner of a lingerie shop in Moscow told the Independent: ‘As a rule, lacy underwear is literally snatched off the shelves.’
She continued: ‘If you take that away again, the buyer is going to be the one who suffers the most.’
One consumer says that the ban is pointless as women will take their business abroad.
They said: ‘I think (the girls)... will still have the opportunity to wear it (synthetic underwear) whether you can buy it in Russia or not.’