Russian rapper who wore nothing but sock at party given army call-up
A Russian rapper who was imprisoned for wearing nothing but a Balenciaga sock at a party in Moscow last month, has been ordered to a military recruitment centre.
Nikolai Vasilyev, known as Vacio, was jailed for 15 days and fined 200,000 roubles (£1,731) for promoting “non-traditional sexual relations” at an “almost naked” soirée.
He was subsequently ordered to go to a Moscow recruitment centre on Tuesday, although he will not be able to attend after being detained a further 10 days for petty hooliganism and swearing at police officers.
“It turns out the artist will be in a special detention centre on the day of his scheduled appearance [at the enlistment centre],” Alexei Lobaryov, a prison inspector, told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
The tabloid also reported that Vasilyev has an unspecified medical exemption from military service, meaning he is unlikely to be sent to the front in Ukraine.
Another Russian singer has since been detained after appearing on stage wearing nothing but a sock on his penis.
Maxim Tesli’s apparent show of solidarity with Vasilyev, 25, led to the punk band frontman’s arrest at a St Petersburg airport on Monday night, the Tass state news agency reported.
Fontanka, a local newspaper, said he had been charged with petty hooliganism.
Vasilyev was one of a number of Russian celebrities and socialites who attended the party on Dec 21, which fell foul of Vladimir Putin’s recent crackdown on decadence and gay rights.
Russian conservative politicians and talk show hosts demanded the attendees be punished for their behaviour.
Speaking on one of his nightly talk shows on Russian TV, the Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov described those who attended the party as “traitors” who party “while our guys on the front line are dying”.
Some of those who attended had business deals cancelled and their participation in New Year’s Eve television programmes revoked.
