A party with a “near-naked” theme held at a Moscow nightclub has sparked enormous anger among the country’s leaders, and particularly Vladimir Putin, at a time when Russia is embroiled in a war with Ukraine and authorities are increasingly demanding promote conservative social agenda.
The party on December 21 at the Mutabor nightclub in Moscow was organized by blogger Anastasia (Nastya). Ivleeva and well-known singers and celebrities who have regularly appeared in entertainment programs on state television for years took part.
Ivleeva has become one of the most mentioned names in Russia, in part because she wore jewelry worth 23 million rubles ($251,000) at a time when the majority of the population is suffering from serious economic problems.
The blogger released two apology videos. In the second part, released in tears on December 27, he said that he regretted his actions and deserved everything that happened to him, but he hoped they would give him “a second chance.”
Tax authorities have opened an investigation that carries a possible five-year prison sentence, and a Moscow court has accepted a lawsuit from a group of people asking him to pay 1 billion rubles ($10.9 million) over ” moral suffering”.
The violent reaction from authorities, pro-Kremlin lawmakers and bloggers, state media and Orthodox church groups has dominated headlines for days, crowding out stories of rising prices and inflation.
Nikolai Vasiliev, Wearing only a stocking that covered his penis, a rapper named Vacio was sentenced by a Moscow court to 15 days in prison and a fine of 200,000 rubles ($2,182) for promoting “non-traditional sexual relationships.”
Other participants had their participation on state television canceled, contracts with sponsors were terminated or they were excluded from filming a new film.