Who was Dima Nova? Russian pop star who criticised president Vladimir Putin with his anti-war songs dies

Many people were shocked by the tragic death of Dmitry Svirgunov, also known as Dima Nova, who passed away at the young age of 35. According to reports, the lead singer of the Russian band Cream Soda died after falling as he and his friends tried to cross the frozen Volga river. The band announced his passing on their Instagram account.

Two of Svirgunov's friends were extricated from the ice, but a third later passed away in an ambulance. The hit song "Aqua Disco" by the well-known electronic group was oftenly chanted at demonstrations against the war in Ukraine. Svirgunov's passing was confirmed by Cream Soda on Monday in an Instagram post.

In 2012, Svirgunov and Ilya Gadayev founded Cream Soda, which has since put out four studio albums. The group has worked with bands like Khleb and Loud as well as musicians like Feduk, Alyona Sviridova, Antokha MC, and Alexander Gudkov.

In 2017, they dropped a song labelled "Volga" which involves lyrics about proceeding "under the bottom" and sinking. They gained notoriety in 2021 when Russian comedian Alexander Gudkov parodied President Vladimir Putin in a video using their song after he was charged with constructing a $1.3 billion mansion known as "Putin's Palace."

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Song by Dima Nova criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin

The mansion's hookah lounge and a room that was allegedly described as a "aquatic disco" were commented about by the Russian president's detractors, which prompted Cream Soda to pen the song "Aqua Disco" in retaliation.

The song's lyrics are directed at 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.”

The song "Aqua Disco," by Dima Nova and his band Cream Soda, was a well-known anthem against Vladimir Putin. According to Newsweek, the song disparaged the alleged $1.3 billion mansion of the Russian President. The band capitalised on the description of the mansion's main room as a "aquatic disco" and wrote a song about it.