Spain Russian model Elena Rybalchenko has been criticized for being an insult when posing for photos in the burning street in the violent region of Catalonia.

Elena Rybalchenko posted on October 16 on Instagram a photo of wearing short shorts, posing next to the sprawling barriers on the ground, behind the garbage containers and signs on fire in Barcelona, the capital of Barcelona. Autonomous region of Catalonia, northeastern Spain. She also uses a series of keywords to address the ongoing political struggle here.

"Barcelona is on fire," said Elena, who was on holiday in the city with her husband, captioning under the photo the icon of the fire. "In front of me, behind me, on the left and right, everywhere there are explosions, helicopters, howling, like a Hollywood movie."

The image was quickly criticized by locals as joking about Catalonia's struggle for independence.

"The flames represent the Catalan struggle. You should be ashamed of yourself for posting these pictures as if you were standing in front of a tourist spot," one commentator said.

"Do you want people to do the same in your country? It's an insult," another critic.

Another expressed frustration: "It is amazing that you can take advantage of what is happening to take pictures at a difficult time, full of suffering and struggle like this".

"It was a riot, not a photo spot. Let's go back to your country to take a photo," said one of them.

The riots erupted after the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced to imprisonment with nine former Catalonia government members demanding secession at the end of 2017 on charges of instigating rebellion and misusing public funds. The former Catalonia Deputy Deputy Premier Oriol Junqueras received a maximum sentence of 13 years, while the rest were sentenced to 9-12 years. The court also issued an arrest warrant for all of Europe with former Catalonian premier Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the separatist movement and living in exile in Belgium.

Thousands of people took to the streets to protest the decision, burning large bonfires on train tracks and spilling large roads, causing traffic into chaos.

In the face of the wave of anger, Elena responded to critics that she gave "great respect" to Barcelona.

"I love Barcelona. That's why I come here often and promote many landmarks," the female model explained. "Please understand that this photo is not a photo shoot or something offensive".

Elena also said that she talked with the masked people on the back of the fire and they were happy to let her take the picture.

Elena has 3 children, is considered one of the most famous personal trainers in Russia and currently has more than 700,000 followers on Instagram.