×
Enjoying ad-free content?
Since July 1, 2024, we have disabled all ads to improve your reading experience.
This commitment costs us $10,000 a month. Your support can help us fill the gap.
Support us
Our journalism is banned in Russia. We need your help to keep providing you with the truth.

Russian Investigators Clear Teen Twerkers of Indecency Claims

Members of the Kredo dance school in Orenburg twerk in a “dance of the bees.”

Investigators have found no signs of indecent activity in a video of teenage girls "twerking" during a dance school performance and will not open a criminal case into the matter, a news report said Monday.

The video, which has garnered more than 25 million views since it was uploaded to YouTube last month, was shot in the town of Orenburg and saw the young dancers, who were dressed as bees, flock onstage and start twerking in a modern take on a "Winnie the Pooh" tale.

Many social media users and Internet news sites were quick to criticize the performance as "indecent," while children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov labeled it "vulgar" and "insulting" in a Twitter post.

But a formal investigation concluded that there was nothing untoward about the performance, according to Anzhelika Linkova, an Investigative Committee assistant in the Orenburg region.

"A criminal case will not be opened against the dance school as specialists have not found anything depraved in the actions of the school's management regarding the minors, [neither have they found any evidence of] negligence or the illegal manufacture of pornographic materials depicting minors," Linkova was cited as saying by RIA Novosti.

Most of the girls performing in the show were aged between 16 and 18 or older, RIA Novosti said. While three 14-year-old girls and two 15-year-olds also took part, their parents had consented to them learning the "twerk" dance style, the report added.

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more