All it took was one evening, albeit with an evocative name, to set the world alight. For a week now, a simple party organized in a Moscow nightclub has enlivened the traditionally gloomy end-of-year news in Russia. It shows the state of anxiety in which the country finds itself, mired in an endless war in Ukraine.
The "Almost Naked" party, both the name and dress code of the event, was held on December 20 at Mutabor, a nightclub renowned for the quality of its musical programming. Before the night was over, the first photos of the party were posted by participants and notably by its organizer, 32-year-old Nastya Ivleeva, a former TV presenter with over 18 million followers on Instagram.
The first thing that attracted attention was the guest list: stars of TV and song, rappers, influencers, professional jet-setters... In short, a line-up ranging from businesswoman Ksenia Sobchak – who is said to be Vladimir Putin's goddaughter and was a candidate in the 2018 presidential election – to 56-year-old Philipp Kirkorov, a singer who has been adored by retired women since the 1990s.
All of them were dressed according to the organizer's wishes, i.e. in a scantily clad fashion. There was plenty of sheer fabric, fishnets and underwear, but not a single genital organ to be seen. The prize for audacity goes to the rapper Vacio, wearing only socks... on his feet and penis.
As soon as dawn broke, social media exploded. Dozens of conservative and military bloggers accused the evening of being "immoral," "Satanist" and "Western." It promoted "drug culture," "the LGBT lifestyle" and "debauchery."
Above all, the discrepancy with the situation of the men deployed on the Ukrainian front was highlighted. "This is not what our soldiers are fighting for," wrote Ekaterina Mizulina, queen of internet denunciations and self-proclaimed guardian of virtue, on December 21. "Organizing such celebrations is like shooting a bullet into the foot of all our state's policies," she asserted.
Government propagandists and lawmakers were all over the place, demanding that participants be prosecuted, banned from the screen or sent to Ukraine. The controversy was not confined to the Moscow microcosm. It seemed to be arousing real emotion throughout the country. On the front lines, soldiers filmed themselves to express their rage.
At least as much as the war or the question of "traditional values," it was the luxury on display that was the source of irritation. In the eyes of some, Ivleeva is less guilty of showing off her buttocks than of saying to a female companion, while being filmed: "Have you ever seen an ass worth 23 million rubles?" This is the price of the diamond adorning her bottom.
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