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Russian Singer Arrested in St. Petersburg After Nude Performance Goes Viral

Maxim Moiseyev (real name Maxim Tesli), Maxim Tesli / Instagram

Updated with arrest order.

A St. Petersburg court ordered the arrest of Russian singer Maxim Moiseyev (real name Maxim Tesli) after he was filmed performing on stage wearing only a sock on his genitals, the local news website Fontanka reported Tuesday.

Tesli was detained Monday night by law enforcement agents at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport, according to Fontanka.

The outlet said Tesil was planning to leave Russia amid growing calls for his arrest after a video of him performing on stage with only a sock on his genitals went viral.

A court later on Tuesday ordered the singer to be jailed for 10 days on charges of petty hooliganism. 

Pro-Kremlin activist Vitaly Borodin said Sunday he would contact authorities about the video and hoped criminal charges would be pressed against the singer.

Borodin accused Tesli of spreading “LGBT propaganda.”

Yekaterina Mizulina, head of the Kremlin-aligned Safe Internet League, said the singer mimicked Russian rapper Vacio, who attended a “nearly naked” party last month wearing only a sock on his genitals.

A Moscow court fined and jailed the rapper for 15 days in late December after finding him guilty of petty hooliganism and spreading “gay propaganda.” 

Vacio was supposed to be released on Friday, however, he was arrested for a second time on hooliganism charges and ordered to spend 10 more days in detention.

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