A rapper who attended a celebrity party wearing just a sock to cover his modesty has been detained for 15 days, sponsors of some of Russia's most well-known musicians have ripped up their contracts, and President Vladimir Putin is said to be unimpressed.
An "almost naked" party at a Moscow nightclub amid Russia's war with Ukraine and the authorities pursuing an increasingly conservative social agenda has sparked an unusually rapid and violent protest.
A video clip of Putin's spokeswoman listening to an explanation from one of the attendees has gone viral, and Baza, a news source known for its links with security agencies, has stated that servicemen fighting in Ukraine were among those present.
On Wednesday, Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, requested reporters pardon him for not publicly commenting on the escalating issue, saying, "Let you and I be the only ones in the country who aren't discussing this topic."
According to the Ura.ru news outlet, Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the event "stained" individuals who took part but that they now had an opportunity to work on themselves.
For days, the violent retaliation from authorities, pro-Kremlin MPs and bloggers, state media, and Orthodox Church groups has dominated headlines, displacing articles about rising egg prices and inflation.
The scandal comes at a time when Putin, who is expected to win re-election in March easily, has doubled down on social conservatism, urging families to have eight or more children, and after Russia's Supreme Court ruled that LGBT activists should be labeled as "extremists."
Nikolai Vasilyev, a rapper known as Vacio who attended wearing just a sock to conceal his penis, was jailed for 15 days and fined 200,000 roubles ($2,182) by a Moscow court for promoting "non-traditional sexual relations."
Other more prominent celebrities have had concerts and lucrative state TV airtime canceled, contracts with sponsors annulled, and are being pulled out of a new film in at least one case.
