Robbie Williams upsets Russia with 'offensive' new video
Former Take That singer comes under attack for stereotype-laden song Party like a Russian
Russia has come under fire from around the world for its military ventures, but it is a Robbie Williams song that appears to have broken the camel's back, sparking a furious response in the country.
Russian media say the video for Williams's new song Party like a Russian, which features the singer in a Soviet-style military uniform surrounded by ballerinas, is "borderline racist", The Guardian reports.
Vesti, the state TV channel, described it as an attempt to grab attention by a musician whose popularity "in recent years was becoming a memory rather than a reality".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Moscow-based concert impresario Sergey Knyazev told Life magazine that while home-grown artists might be forgiven for digs at the national culture, foreign artists could expect to see their music and ticket sales take a hit for lampooning Russia.
It is certainly true that few Russian stereotypes escape mention in the song, which references Rasputin, oligarchs, nesting dolls and, of course, vodka.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"101536","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
Perhaps more controversially, lyrics analysis website Genius suggests the song's first verse is a veiled attack on President Vladimir Putin.
Your weekly digest of stories about entertainment and leisure, delivered every Friday
The opening lines reference "a certain kind of man with a certain reputation" draining the nation's economy while acting "highfalutin while my boys put the boots in".
Not everyone has been so outraged. Anti-Putin political activist Maria Baronova applauded the lyrics as "fierce satire" of the Russian leader and the country's elite.
However, in a tweet to The Sun's Dan Wootton, Williams denied the lyrics were political.