Wife of prominent Kiev politician sparks outrage among nationalists by playing DJ set at raunchy ‘sex positive’ Moscow club night

A steamy disco blowout dedicated to being open about intimacy has landed one Ukrainian politician in a sticky situation after his wife traveled to Russia to perform at it, despite rock-bottom relations between the two countries.

Anastasia Topolskaya, going by the name DJ Nastia, was one of the acts billed at Moscow's trend-setting Mutabor nightclub, set in a disused warehouse in the southeast of the capital.

Organizers describe the special night, named ‘Roundabout’, as being “dedicated to freedom, openness, mutual respect and sex positivity.”

“In many cultures,” the Facebook page explains, “dancing in circles symbolizes togetherness and is considered a rite of passage. There will be 33 hours of dancing, performances, installations and digital art.”

On top of that, “all acts of intolerance are forbidden. No prejudice, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, fat-shaming, or any other aggression will be tolerated.”

However, the DJ’s husband, Kiev politician Sergey Leschenko, has found that some people back home are less tolerant of his wife's choices. Ukraine has repeatedly branded Russia an “aggressor country,” and in the past weeks has warned of the potential for a full-blown conflict with Moscow.

A number of Ukrainian social media users and prominent nationalists have since slammed the pair for Topolskaya’s decision to party in a supposedly hostile state. Sergey Sternenko, a well-known Maidan activist who has served time in Ukraine for an abduction conviction, complained that he had been blocked on social media by Leschenko for criticizing the move.

“It's a pity, I could have explained why his wife goes to entertain the invaders during the war,” he said.

Leschenko, a former MP and journalist, was previously an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, before which he had been an ally of former president Petro Poroshenko. He currently serves on the supervisory board of the country's railways. In 2018, Moscow singled out Leschenko on a list of Ukrainian citizens targeted for sanctions as political relations between the two nations grew increasingly tense.

Leschenko and Topolskaya have previously come under fire for the purchase of a plush apartment in an elite part of Kiev, sparking questions as to how a public official was able to splash out substantial sums on luxury property. A probe into Leschenko’s affairs found no wrongdoing.

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