Russian musician famous for anti-war protest songs dies after falling through icy river

EXPLORE MORE The founder of the Russian band Cream Soda, whose music was used during anti-war protests in Russia, died after falling through the ice while crossing a river on Sunday. Dmitry

Svirgunov, also known as Dima Nova, was crossing the frozen Volga River with his brother and three friends when he fell through the ice, the independent Russian outlet Meduza reported. He

was 35. Two of Svirgunov’s friends were rescued from under the ice while the third later died in an ambulance. The popular electronic group’s hit “Aqua Disco” was frequently sung at protests

against the war in Ukraine. Cream Soda confirmed Svirgunov’s death on Monday in an Instagram post. “We had a tragedy last night. Our Dima Nova, in the company of friends, was walking along

the Volga and fell through the ice,” the group wrote in Russian. On Tuesday the group shared photos of Svirgunov and his friend, noting, “an official identification took place today at 9:00.

Dima and [his friend] Goshi are no more.” Svirgunov began Cream Soda in 2012 with Ilya Gadayev and released four studio albums. The band has collaborated with artists like Feduk, Alyona

Sviridova, Antokha MC and Alexander Gudkov as well as with the bands Khleb and Loud. NEVER MISS A STORY Sign up to get the best stories straight to your inbox. THANKS FOR SIGNING UP! In

2017, they released a song titled “Volga” which includes lyrics about going “under the bottom” and drowning. In 2021, they also made headlines when Russian comedian Alexander Gudkov used

their song in a video making fun of President Vladimir Putin after he was accused of building a $1.3 billion mansion, dubbed “Putin’s Palace.” Critics of the Russian leader joked about the

mansion’s hookah lounge and a room apparently described as an “aquatic disco,” prompting Cream Soda to write the song “Aqua Disco” as a criticism. Lyrics from the song send a message to

Putin: “You are inviting me to the movies and for a couple of glasses. Inviting me to breathe in the shisha smoke, to chill on the covers, to watch the sunset from your marble boudoir. You

just don’t understand that is very old school.” According to the Moscow Times, the song quickly became a hit and a staple at protests, which soon began being called “all-Russian aquatic

disco parties.”