A near-naked party at a Moscow nightclub on Thursday, December 28, at a time when Russia is at war with Ukraine and authorities are pursuing increasingly conservative social policies, drew an unusually strong backlash – prison sentences, fines and sharp criticism, reports Reuters.
The strong reaction from authorities, pro-Kremlin lawmakers and bloggers, state media and Orthodox church groups dominated headlines for several days, replacing reports of rising egg prices and inflation in Russia.
A video of Putin's spokesman listening to a party attendee explain himself went viral. The Baza news portal, which has contacts with the security services, reported that troops in Ukraine were among the first to complain about the party and that photos of the event were passed on to President Putin, who was reportedly not impressed.
Yekaterina Mizulina, director of the Russian organization League for Safe Internet, criticized the party as cynical and inappropriate, saying: “Our soldiers at the front are certainly not fighting for this.”
The party at the Mutabor nightclub in Moscow on December 21st,
The event, organized by blogger Anastasia Ivleeva, was attended by well-known singers in various nude outfits, who have been the main stars of national TV entertainment programs for years.
At Ivleeva's nude party everyone took off their clothes! Sobchak, Kirkorov, Lolita – and Nastya herself with diamonds on her ass💥
This is not a Latin American festival or even promotional photos of a mediocre brothel, but a medical brochure with photos of people leading an “unhealthy lifestyle”.😂 pic.twitter.com/qwNMPq2eZ2
— Tavo (@TaavoTeder) December 21, 2023
Ivleeva herself attended the event wearing jewelry worth 23 million rubles (228,288 euros) and has already released two apology videos after the event. In the second apology video, posted on December 27, the blogger expressed regret, admitted that she deserved punishment and expressed hope for a “second chance.”
She then disappeared as the public face of the Russian mobile operator MTS. Tax authorities have opened an investigation into a possible five-year prison sentence, and a Moscow court has accepted a lawsuit from a group of individuals that wants Ivleeva to pay one billion rubles (9,927,359 euros) for “moral suffering.” If successful, the group wants that The money goes into a state fund to support Ukrainian war veterans.
Apology videos were posted by many famous attendees at the party.
including journalist Ksenia Sobchak, Putin's goddaughter, former presidential candidate and whose late father Anatoly was once Putin's friend and boss.
According to Reuters, Russian rapper Nikolai Vasiliev (Vacio), who attended the party wearing only socks, was sentenced to 15 days in prison and a fine of 200,000 rubles (1,985 euros) for promoting “non-traditional sexual relations.”
Other celebrities' concerts were canceled, they lost lucrative airtime on national television, endorsement deals were revoked and at least one celebrity was reportedly denied the opportunity to star in a new film.
Supporters of the Russian war in Ukraine are also outraged. A woman whose nephew lost both legs in combat suggested as an excuse that celebrities should pay for prosthetic legs for her nephew.
The scandal erupted at a time when Putin emphasized social conservatism, championed large families and called LGBT activists “extremists” in a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Also read: Supreme Court of Russia bans “LGBT movement” and declares it “extremist”
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