Moscow court rejects lawsuit against ‘almost naked’ party that caused scandal in Russia

A court in Moscow on Wednesday rejected a class-action lawsuit against a Russian TV presenter that sought $11 million in moral damages after she hosted a party where guests were encouraged to show up wearing next to nothing.

The suit against Anastasia Ivleeva was one element of a scandal that erupted after her bash at a Moscow nightclub last month. A well-known rapper who attended wearing only a sock around his genitals and two on his feet was sent to jail.

Public denunciation of the party reflected the rise of fiercely conservative sentiment in Russia amid President Vladimir Putin’s accusations against the West for trying to undermine “traditional values” and the nationalism intensified by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Invitations to Ivleeva’s party described the dress code as “almost naked.” Photos from the party circulated on social media. Conservative legislators, bloggers and others unleashed a storm of criticism, contending the images were unseemly, even unpatriotic, for a country embroiled in war.

In the wake of the outrage, several of Russia’s biggest pop-culture figures have issued public statements seeking forgiveness for attending the bash.

The rapper Vacio, whose legal name is Nikolai Vasiliyev, was sentenced to 15 days in jail for disorderly conduct and fined 200,000 rubles ($22,000) for allegedly spreading “LGBTQ propaganda” in a video. He was to be released on Saturday, but was handed a second sentence of 10 days.

He also was summoned to report to a military recruitment center, a member of Russia’s Public Monitoring Committee said this week.

The Moscow district court rejected the lawsuit against Ivleeva on jurisdictional grounds, saying there is no record of her living in the district.

It was unclear if the plaintiffs would try to file it elsewhere.

The suit called for the damages to be paid into a fund supporting soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

Also Wednesday, another Moscow court ordered the nightclub where the party was held closed on the grounds of violating sanitary regulations.

Jim Heintz, The Associated Press