Rappers were jailed and other party-goers were investigated because of conservative outrage over a party in Moscow’s Mutabor nightclub.

A rapper who partied at a Moscow nightclub wearing only a strategically placed sock has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and several other Russian stars have publicly apologized after a celebrity party with an “almost naked” dress code drew a storm of criticism triggered a series of investigations.

The raid came after images from the party, which took place on the night of December 20 and was organized by TV presenter and actress Anastasia Ivleeva, began circulating on social media.

Among the scantily clad celebrities at Mutabor nightclub was rapper Vacio, while Ivleeva wore an emerald-studded necklace worth 23 million rubles ($251,000) around her bottom at a time when some Russians are struggling to survive.

Conservative MPs, bloggers and others voiced strong criticism, claiming the images were unseemly, even unpatriotic, for the country, which launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. The issue has dominated headlines for days, spreading stories about rising egg prices and other concerns.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the event had “tarnished” the participants but that they now had a chance to work on themselves, the Ura.ru news agency reported.

Vacio, whose real name is Nikolai Vasiliev, was sentenced by a Moscow court to 15 days in prison and a fine of 200,000 rubles ($2,182) under the LGBTQ “propaganda” law passed last year has been tightened and bans positive information about lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgender people.

Ivleeva released two public apology videos following the event, including one on Wednesday in which she said she regretted her actions and deserved everything she got, but hoped she could be given “a second chance.”

Since then, her name has disappeared as one of the public faces of major Russian mobile operator MTS, tax authorities have opened an investigation that carries a potential prison sentence of five years, and a Moscow court has accepted a lawsuit from a group of more than 200,000 people 20 People demanded she pay one billion rubles ($10.9 million) for “moral suffering.”

If successful, they want the money to go into a state fund that supports Russian veterans from the war in Ukraine.

Russia’s flamboyant pop king Filipp Kirkorov also asked for forgiveness after photos of him in a sparkling lace outfit with futuristic sunglasses circulated.

“In today’s difficult and heroic times, an artist of my caliber cannot and should not be so irresponsible while participating in various events,” he said.

Other partygoers have also apologized, including journalist Ksenia Sobchak, whose late father Anatoly was once a friend and boss of President Vladimir Putin.

“To hold events like this at a time when our boys are dying [Ukrainian] “It is cynical that a special military operation is being carried out and many children are losing their fathers,” said Yekaterina Mizulina, director of the Russian League for a Safer Internet, an organization founded with the support of the authorities. Russia describes its invasion as “special military operation“.

“Our soldiers at the front are definitely not fighting for this.”

The scandal comes as Putin, who is expected to comfortably win another six-year term in March elections, tightens his social conservatism and repeatedly condemns Western countries for allegedly “undermining politics.”traditional values“.

In November, the Supreme Court of Russia ruled that “LGBT movement“should be called “extremists.”

Nadezhda, a Moscow resident, stood outside the Bolshoi Theater on Thursday and told Reuters she was outraged and believed those who went to the party should be punished.

“If you’re going to celebrate, at least don’t film it,” she said. “In such a difficult time [for Russia], they should at least be ashamed. Aren’t they ashamed of those who fight for us?”