MOSCOW, October 2 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian dance trio photographed performing topless with Russian flags that were tossed on a stage is being investigated for “desecration,” the Investigative Committee said Wednesday.
In photos uploaded onto two news sites covering the Ural region – Ura.ru and U74.ru – the three young women can be seen wearing blue shorts and red gloves, dancing apparently bare-breasted with Russian national flags.
An artistic director for the venue where the women were reportedly performing – the hotel Ural Dawn (Uralskiye Zori) in the Chelyabinsk Region – called the dance a display of patriotism, as in “Go, Russia” – a far cry from desecration.
But regional investigators are taking the matter very seriously, as flag desecration is punishable by up to a year behind bars.
The head of the local Investigative Committee has even taken the inspection under his “personal” control, the agency said in a statement.
In July, the bassist of American rock band Bloodhound Gang caused public outcry after being filmed cramming a Russian flag down his pants and literally wiping his butt with it at a show in Odessa, Ukraine. Video of the incident was uploaded to YouTube.
The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case into the incident, and the band, which by then had come to Russia, quickly had to leave.