The prosecutions against show business stars in Russia where attended the party organized by blogger and TV presenter Nastia Iveleyeva entitled “almost naked”, they began at the behest of President Vladimir Putin’s administrationwrites The Moscow Times newspaper today, citing sources in the government, the State Duma and the Administration of the Russian president.

The newspaper’s sources claim that in this way the Kremlin is diverting the attention of Russian citizens from the accumulated negative problems with celebrities. “To the side of the stars,” an acting associate of the Russian government told reporters on condition of anonymity.

“Such a large-scale smear campaign against these stars already constitutes domestic politics. Without Putin’s approval and without the mandate of the head of domestic policy Sergei Kiriyenko and the head of State Television and Media Alexei Gromov, this is simply impossible to do. The people of the FSB were also pushing this issue,” another Russian official close to Putin’s campaign staff told the newspaper.

The well-known political scientist Abbas Galyamov believes that the Kremlin decided to take advantage of the “almost naked” party scandal to forget the story of the exclusion of journalist Ekaterina Dutsova, who announced her candidacy for the presidency, having the support of many Russians opposition parties, but the Central Electoral Commission rejected it citing formal errors made in gathering the required signatures.

The source of The Moscow Times, close to Putin’s campaign staff, agreed with this assessment. According to the said source, Dutsova’s public activity caused irritation in the Kremlin. The same source named among the other negative events for the government, the Ukrainian strike against the Russian warship in Feodosia, as well as the increase in the prices of eggs and other food items.

Officially, the Kremlin does not comment on the “almost naked” party. “Come on, let’s be the only ones in the country who don’t discuss this issue,” Russian President Dmitry Peskov’s press representative told reporters during a briefing.

Yesterday, however, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that “these people must realize the depth of the problem and improve. For their own good”.

For this case, a preliminary investigation has already started, while voices are heard calling for the “boycotting” of the specific artists.

Most of the participants, after the bullying they received began to publicly apologize one after another.

Organizer Anastasia (Nastia) Ivlegieva posted a video in which she tearfully apologizes. “I would like to ask you, all of you, for a second chance (…) If the answer is no, I am ready to be publicly executed,” he said.

More than 20 people have filed a class-action lawsuit against her, demanding she pay 1 billion rubles (about 10 million euros) to an organization supporting the war in Ukraine.

Ivlegieva’s apology did not mollify TV presenter, well-known Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. “Do you want a second chance? Send our men to the front (in Ukraine) stoves and drones,” he replied to her via Telegram. Earlier, he had called the party guests “trash”. “You have no idea how much the world hates you,” he told them.

Rapper Vasio, who appeared at the party wearing only a sock, was sentenced to 15 days in prison for “homosexual propaganda” and “hooliganism,” according to the TASS news agency.

Pop star Philip Kirkorov has also apologized after pictures of him wearing lace were released. “In these difficult and heroic times, an artist of my caliber cannot and should not be so irresponsible,” he said in his self-criticism to the cameras.

Singer Dima Bilan said he understood “the discomfort of our people, especially the men who defend us on the front line.”

After the party, the Tinkoff bank and the MTS mobile phone company stopped working with Ivlegieva. It was reported that the Federal Tax Service launched an audit against Ivlegieva, and Russian TV channels received lists of the names of celebrities who attended the party. Kirkorov, Lolita and Bilan began to be cut from the New Year’s TV broadcasts.

Source: APE-MPE, with information from The Moscow Times