Dozens of fish had their guts sliced open so these models could wrestle in caviar

Surely there's a better way to mock the American economy than forcing two scantily clad models to fight in a kiddie pool filled with caviar. Yet that's exactly what happened this August at an event in Moscow, where rich businessmen celebrated the 700th anniversary of the Russian ruble.

In the video of the stunt, uploaded to YouTube on August 6, two slender models in black leotards adorned with yellow circles — one representing the dollar, the other the euro — push each other and throw handfuls of caviar. 

According to the video's description, the food-fueled wrestling match was "exquisite entertainment" at the party. A government organization planned the event; the video description mentions the "Agency for International Projects in the Field of Culture, Education and Sport."

Not shockingly, people are taking offense to this stunt. Bloggers and Twitter users condemned the event, calling it obscene and wasteful.  

This objectifying stunt wasted a huge amount of food that was obtained through cruel methods. Caviar, of course, consists of fish eggs, an expensive delicacy usually harvested by killing the animals. Fishermen typically slit open living female sturgeon to remove their eggs. It's a matter of convenience — it's harder to collect caviar once the eggs have been released. (Sustainable and more humane methods exist, but they're rare, LA Times points out.) Caviar costs $50 to $75 per ounce and is usually consumed in very small amounts, not hurled at women. 

Allegedly, there were 159 liters of caviar in the pool, RT noted. Assuming that a single fish yields roughly 4.5 liters of caviar, the glut of fish eggs in the kiddie pool probably came from over 35.5 fish — but possibly more. Yields from a single fish can be as low as 700 grams, Shaoching Bishop, the managing director of Sterling Caviar, said in an email. 

That means those half-naked models were rolling around in caviar from more than 35 fish. While RT noted that the stuff was actually cheaper roe from fish that weren't sturgeon, the stunt is still nauseating — guests allegedly scooped up the fish eggs onto canapés after the fight and ate it. Yum? 

Jell-O wrestling almost sounds appealing right about now.