2023-12-28 17:15:44
MOSCOW | A party for participants invited “almost naked”, organized by Russian celebrities in a Moscow club, aroused indignation in Russia, where the conservative tightening of the screw has intensified since the start of the offensive in Ukraine.
The scandal was sparked by the appearance this week on social media of figures from the Russian entertainment industry in lingerie or racy costumes, leading to the arrest of a rapper, calls for a boycott and opening of a criminal investigation.
Faced with these reactions, in a Russian society increasingly tense by the conflict in Ukraine, the organizer of the event Anastassia Ivleïeva published a tearful apology video.
“I would like to ask you, the people, for a second chance… If the answer is no, then I am ready for my public execution,” she said Wednesday.
More than 20 people have filed a class action lawsuit against her, demanding that she pay one billion rubles (around 10 million euros) to an organization supporting the offensive in Ukraine.
His apologies did not mollify television presenter Vladimir Soloviov, an influential pro-Kremlin propagandist. “You want a second chance? Bring our men (in Ukraine) heaters and drones,” he replied on Telegram.
He had previously described the guests at this party, in the popular Mutabor club, as “trash”. “You have no idea of the hatred people have for you,” he called out to them.
Rapper Vasio — who came to the party with only a sock to hide his nudity — was sentenced to 15 days in detention for “homosexual propaganda” and “hooliganism,” according to the TASS news agency.
The cultural elite had until then been generally spared by the conservative turn in Russia, further accentuated by the conflict in Ukraine.
Pop star Philipp Kirkorov also asked for forgiveness after images surfaced showing him wearing lace. “In these difficult and heroic times, an artist of my caliber cannot and should not be so irresponsible,” he said on camera.
Ksenia Sobchak, media figure and daughter of Vladimir Putin’s mentor, who appeared in a beige dress with barbed wire patterns, admitted on social networks that “showing photos of the party to the whole world was inappropriate.”
Singer Dima Bilan also said he understood “the resentment of our people, especially the men who defend us on the front line.”
The Kremlin declined to comment. “Life teaches us painful lessons,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova professed.
“These people need to realize the depth of the problem and improve. For their own good,” she warned.
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