Russian rapper jailed amid backlash over ‘almost naked’ party at Moscow nightclub
A raunchy celebrity-studded party in Moscow has prompted outrage among Russian politicians and law enforcement agencies, in one of the starkest examples to date of how Vladimir Putin is moving the country in a conservative and anti-liberal direction.
The party, which took place on 20 December, was a dress-up ball held at a Moscow nightclub with the theme “almost naked”, and was organised by the popular Instagram influencer Anastasia Ivleeva and attended by a number of household celebrity names who have stayed in the country since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The scantily clad stars wore fleshcoloured mesh, lace, and lingerie, with one rapper attending in nothing but a sock, in what appeared to be a tribute to the famous 1987 Red Hot Chili Peppers album cover.
“Everyone was having a good time, no one could imagine what a mess this would all become,” said one person who attended the party who asked not to be named.
Footage of the party quickly spread across Russian social media, causing outrage among pro-war commentators and nationalist officials.
“There is a war going on in the country, but these beasts, scum are organising all this, these brutes who don’t care what’s going on,” said Vladimir Solovyov, Russia’s most prominent television propagandist, in a Telegram post.
Two days after the party the rapper Vacio – full name Nikolai Vasilyev – who wore the sock outfit, was summoned to court. He was sentenced to 15 days under the charges of the notorious “gay propaganda” law.
Since then, many of the celebrities who attended the party have had their concerts cancelled and advertising contracts terminated in what Russians have dubbed the biggest “cancelling” of stars since the start of the war.
Sensing that their careers and even freedoms were under threat, the celebrities have embarked on a series of public apologies.
On Tuesday, Filipp Kirkorov, Russia’s king of pop, begged the nation for forgiveness, saying: “There are moments in everyone’s life when you walk through the wrong door.”
He added: “In these difficult times, heroic times, an artist of my calibre, a people’s artist, cannot and should not be so irresponsible when participating in various events.”
Ksenia Sobchak, the prominent media personality and rumoured goddaughter of Putin, said she “realised” that attending and sharing images from Ivleeva’s party was inappropriate at a time when Russian troops were fighting in Ukraine.
“If anyone was offended by my appearance, I apologise for that,” Sobchak said. “I don’t want to cause hatred and anger toward myself and other artists because of this stupid accident.”
Russian Eurovision veteran Dima Bilan said he “couldn’t know in advance what the other guests would be wearing”.
Ivleeva, the party’s organiser, is now facing time in jail. The authorities have
launched an inspection into tax evasion against the influencers while more than 20 people have signed a classaction lawsuit demanding she pay a billion roubles (£8.5m) to a pro-war charity.
“Тhey say that Russia knows how to forgive. If so, I would like to ask you, the people, for a second chance,” she said in her video apology on Wednesday. “If the answer is no, then I’m ready for my public execution. I won’t shy away. I’m ready for any outcome.”
The scandal is part of a growing movement that the Kremlin has launched in its efforts to promote socalled “traditional values”, with Putin introducing a series of repressing antiliberal laws aimed at stoking his nationalistic agenda.
Some have compared the series of public apology videos to a notorious practice first popularised in Chechnya by the region’s ruthless leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who has long forced critics to issue humiliating on-camera apologies.
“Moscow has become similar to Chechnya: public apologies from party participants trembling with fear, tax audits, the prospect of criminal cases,” wrote Alexander Rodnyansky, a Ukrainian producer, on Instagram.
The scandal is also a noted departure from the atmosphere of normality that the authorities were keen to promote in the early months following Russia’s invasion. For a while, the Kremlin stressed that the war would not alter people’s daily lives as many in the country embraced a form of escapism, choosing not to think of the fighting in Ukraine.
While previously most ordinary Russians were expected to refrain from actively opposing state policies, mere silence appears to be no longer enough in modern Russia, Rodnyansky said of the fallout from the party.
“Totalitarian regimes differ from the authoritarian ones in that it lives not somewhere on the street, but in your kitchen, sleeps in your bed, listens to your conversations with friends and relatives,” Rodnyansky said.
“It is time to understand that no one will let you live as before in exchange for quietly consenting to the regime’s policies. You are required to actively participate in all the disgusting actions and activities of this government.”