Rapper at centre of raunchy wartime party that angered Russia recants from jail

FILE PHOTO: People attend an "almost naked" party organized by Russian blogger Anastasia (Nastya) Ivleeva at Mutabor nightclub in Moscow, Russia, in this image published December 21, 2023. Ostorozhno Novosti via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - A Russian rapper jailed for showing up in only a sock and trainers at a raunchy wartime party that angered many Russians has publicly recanted and asked for people's understanding, saying he "probably" went too far.

Nikolai Vasilyev, a rapper known as Vacio, attended the "almost naked" party at a Moscow nightclub in December which provoked an unusually swift and powerful backlash at a time when Russia is waging war with Ukraine and the authorities are pushing an increasingly conservative social agenda.