A 15-day jail sentence has been handed down to a rapper who attended a celebrity party wearing only tights. Sponsors of some of Russia's most famous artists have canceled their contracts, and reports indicate that President Vladimir Putin is upset about the "almost naked" party held in Moscow. The event, which took place at a nightclub in Moscow during Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine and while the government is enforcing a conservative social agenda, triggered unusually swift and strong reactions.
Video footage showed Putin's spokesperson listening to an explanation from one of the stars who attended the party, and the news agency "Baza," known for its ties to security agencies, reported that troops fighting in Ukraine were among the first to complain after seeing footage and photographs from the event, which reached Putin.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesperson, asked journalists to understand his position for not commenting publicly, saying, "Let’s not discuss this topic." Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that the event "tarnished" the participants, but they now have the chance to work on themselves, according to the Ura.ru news site.
Reactions from authorities, legislators, pro-Kremlin bloggers, state media, and religious groups dominated the news headlines for several days, even overshadowing stories about rising egg prices and inflation. The party, which took place at the "Mutabor" nightclub in Moscow on December 21, was organized by blogger Anastasia (Nastya) Ivleeva and featured famous singers in varying degrees of nudity, many of whom have been known from state entertainment television for years.
Ivleeva, who has since become one of the most famous names in Russia and attended wearing jewelry worth 23 million rubles (approximately 251,000 dollars) at a time when some Russians struggle to make ends meet, made two public apology videos. In the second video released on December 27, she expressed regret for her actions, stating that she deserves everything that happened to her but hopes for a "second chance."
Since then, her name has disappeared as one of the public faces of major Russian mobile operator MTS, and tax authorities have opened an investigation that includes a potential five-year prison sentence. A Moscow court has accepted a lawsuit from a group of individuals demanding she pay one billion rubles (around 10.9 million dollars) for "moral suffering." If they succeed, they want the money to go to a government fund supporting veterans of the war in Ukraine.
"This is shameful," said Yekaterina Mizulina, the head of the Russian Association for a Safe Internet, stating, "Holding such parties at a time when our men are dying in the special military operation (in Ukraine) and many children are losing their fathers is disgraceful. Our soldiers on the front lines are certainly not fighting for this."
Many famous attendees of the party have expressed their apologies, including journalist Ksenia Sobchak, whose late father Anatoly was a friend of Putin's. This incident comes as Putin, who is expected to easily win another six-year presidential term in the March elections, emphasizes conservative social values and encourages families to have eight or more children, after the Russian Supreme Court sentenced LGBTQ+ activists to prison and labeled them as "extremists."
Nikolai Vasiliev, the rapper known as Vasyuk, who attended wearing only tights, was sentenced by a Moscow court to 15 days in jail and fined 200,000 rubles (approximately 2,182 dollars) for promoting "non-traditional sexual relations." Concerts have been canceled, and television programs featuring several other celebrities have been pulled from state channels. In at least one case, a celebrity's name was removed from the credits of a new film.
The scandal has outraged those who support the Russian war in Ukraine. One woman, who stated that her nephew lost his legs in combat, wrote to the Safe Internet Association that stars should pay for prosthetic legs for her relative and others as compensation. The anonymous woman declared, "This would be a better apology."
