It’s entirely possible that Dima Nova, the pop star whose song “Aqua Disco” about Vladimir Putin’s palace became an anthem of Russian anti-war protests, died in a tragic accident.
Dmitry Svirgunov, known as Dima Nova, is reported to have fallen through the ice on the Volga River along with friends.
Could have been an accident. It’s possible all those people really did fall out of windows. Then again, there aren’t many coincidences in Russia, especially for critics of Putin.
During a night walk over the springtime ice on the Volga River, music producer Dmitry Svirgunov (best known as Dima Nova, one of the artists behind the popular synth-pop group Cream Soda) fell through the ice crust, together with four friends.
The tragic incident occurred in the village of Dievo-Gorodishche, in Russia’s Yaroslavl region.
The 35-year old musician, his 25-year-old brother Roman Svirgunov, and their 28-year-old friend Georgy Kiselev were all drawn under the ice by the powerful current, and were considered missing. Although two other people had been rescued, one of them died later, in the ambulance.
“Aqua Disco” was played during the anti-war protests early in the invasion of Ukraine. It referred to the opulent mansion that jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny criticized. There was also a prescient song about the river he eventually drowned in.
In 2017, they released a song titled “Volga” which includes lyrics about going “under the bottom” and drowning.
In 2021, they also made headlines when Russian comedian Alexander Gudkov used their song in a video making fun of President Vladimir Putin after he was accused of building a $1.3 billion mansion, dubbed “Putin’s Palace.”
Critics of the Russian leader joked about the mansion’s hookah lounge and a room apparently described as an “aquatic disco,” prompting Cream Soda to write the song “Aqua Disco” as a criticism.
Lyrics from the song send a message to Putin: “You are inviting me to the movies and for a couple of glasses. Inviting me to breathe in the shisha smoke, to chill on the covers, to watch the sunset from your marble boudoir. You just don’t understand that is very old school.”
-------------------------------------------------—
A poignant reminder.
-------------------------------------------------—
They have some bad-ass politicians in Ukraine.
-------------------------------------------------—
Uh oh! We’re in trouble now.
-------------------------------------------------—
Wait! Was Trump in Moscow today?