A Moscow nightclub that hosted a raunchy celebrity party last month was ordered to close for 90 days Wednesday, after triggering a conservative backlash from Russia’s political establishment.
Numerous high-profile guests and household names dressed in lingerie and revealing costumes were pictured at the so-called “Almost Naked” event, which was held at Moscow’s Mutabor venue.
The Lefortovsky District court ordered the club to shut for three months Wednesday, ruling that its owner had breached “sanitary and epidemiological requirements”.
The Kremlin has ramped up conservative rhetoric since launching large-scale military hostilities in Ukraine, casting the conflict as a battleground against the West and its values.
The event flew in the face of the family-oriented image Moscow has been trying to portray, and prompted calls for investigations from conservative politicians.
Celebrity guests including Eurovision winner Dima Bilan, pop singer Filipp Kirkorov and journalist and socialite Ksenia Sobchak apologised after the party, as did its organiser Anastasia Ivleeva.
The Russian rapper Vacio, who was pictured at the party wearing nothing but a strategically-placed sock, was sentenced to 15 days jail and summoned to a military recruitment centre.
