‘Who washes Putin’s underpants?’ Pet Shop Boys revisit Navalny’s poisoning in a new song released as Russia votes in parliamentary elections.
The British pop group Pet Shop Boys has released a new song, “A Top Secret Washing Machine,” on its YouTube channel. The track was timed to coincide with Russia’s State Duma elections.
The British pop group Pet Shop Boys has released a new song titled "A Top Secret Washing Machine" to coincide with Russia's State Duma elections. The track references Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's poisoning in February 2021 with the nerve agent Novichok, and how he was sentenced to prison on fabricated charges. Navalny was later killed behind bars after being poisoned with epibatidine, a frog neurotoxin.
The song asks the question, "Who washes Putin's underpants?" referring to Putin's role in Navalny's poisoning. The video for the song quotes Navalny's statement about Putin being the only one who matters, and that he'll go down in history as a poisoner. The Pet Shop Boys have a history of writing songs about events in Russian history, including a video in 2023 comparing Putin to Joseph Stalin and another in 2024 dedicated to dancer Rudolf Nureyev.
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