Russian law enforcement authorities will investigate pop star Olga Buzova for performing in a revealing outfit on Children’s Day, sparking outrage among conservative figures, investigators announced Monday.
Buzova was a headliner at VK Fest 2024, an event organized by the social media site VKontakte, held in Ufa, the capital city of the republic of Bashkortostan, on Saturday.
Regional lawmaker Rustem Akhmadinurov reported receiving numerous complaints from residents about Buzova’s appearance in a revealing leather bodysuit during her performance at the event.
In comments to the Podyom news website, Akhmadinurov said Buzova’s outfit was “out of place” in the predominantly Muslim region, especially on June 1, which is International Day for the Protection of Children in Russia.
“I think her performance was very inappropriate, defiant, and showed a lack of understanding of the traditions of the region where she performs,” Akhmadinurov said.
Akhmadinurov stated he would investigate whether local officials were involved in planning Buzova’s performance at VK Fest 2024.
Local authorities in Ufa, however, denied any involvement in organizing the event or that it was held to commemorate Children’s Day.
Influential pro-Kremlin censorship activist Yekaterina Mizulina criticized Buzova’s performance as a “provocation.”
“It’s as if we live in two parallel worlds: on the one hand, there’s the special military operation and a civil war in Ukraine, where people are dying. On the other hand, part of society continues to live in some other world and promote values that are fading into the past,” Mizulina wrote on Telegram.
“The whole country has been living differently for a long time. We have changed,” she added, comparing Buzova’s performance to a controversial “nearly naked” party in Moscow late last year.
In response to complaints online, the regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, vowed to look into Buzova’s performance. Investigators did not specify whether they planned to press charges.
