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Russia jails women in 'twerking' video at WWII memorial

Three of the women were given sentences ranging from 15 to 10 days, while two were fined and the parents of a sixth dancer, who was under age 18, will face monitoring.

By Fred Lambert

NOVOROSSIYSK, Russia, April 26 (UPI) -- A Russian court jailed and fined a group of women who filmed themselves 'twerking' in front of a World War II memorial on the country's Black Sea coast, according to reports.

Prosecutors in Novorossiysk sentenced Margarita Radetskaya, 18, to 15 days in jail for "petty hooliganism," along with Yana Kutakova, 24, and Yekaterina Scherbedinskaya, 26, who received 10-day sentences. Alla Korkach, 28, and Viktoria Yurieva, 22, were fined, while parents of a sixth dancer, who was not named because she is under age 18, face fines and monitoring over charges of "failing to perform parental duties for raising minors."

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The six could be seen in a YouTube video published Friday, performing a synchronized dance that at times utilizes "twerking," a form of dance involving low squatting and hip thrusts. A large memorial marking a 1943 battle in which the Soviet army captured the area from Nazi forces looms in the background.

The women said they filmed the video as a promotion for dance classes at a local school.

Prosecutors said the "erotic and sexual twerk dance" was disrespectful to those who died in the conflict.

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"This incident of disrespect for the memory of war history is unacceptable and any attempts to desecrate sites of military glory will be stopped immediately," the BBC quoted prosecutors as saying.

Russian President Vladimir Putin criminalized denial of Nazi war crimes and distortion of Soviet involvement in World War II last year and has repeatedly noted that Ukraine's pro-Western government is filled with "fascists."

The sentences come as Russia prepares to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory, which several Western leaders have planned to skip in protest of Russia's involvement in the Ukraine crisis.

The incident also follows a national scandal over a YouTube video of girls from a dance school in Orenburg twerking while dressed in striped leotards, mini-skirts and stockings. The video, which has been viewed over 23 million times, resulted in the cancellation of twerking classes at the school and an investigation by Russian authorities as to whether a "debauched action" took place.

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