Dima Nova, whose anti-Putin musical notes resonated in Russia's anti-war protests, drowns

Dima Nova, the founder of Cream Soda band whose song became an anthem during anti-war protests in Russia since Moscow began its offensive in Ukraine last year, died by drowning on Sunday, Newsweek reported.Dima Nova fell through ice while crossing Russia's Volga river in the Yaroslavl region, Russian news website People Talk reported. At the time of the accident, he was with his brother Roma and two friends, the report added.

Who was Dima Nova?

Dima Nova, whose birth name was Dmitry Svirgunov, founded the electronic group Cream Soda. A vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Cream Soda sang the song "Aqua Disco" as satire on the Russian leader's alleged $1.3 billion mansion.

Nova founded Cream Soda with Ilya Gadaev and they were later joined by singer Anna Romanovskaya. The trio had a big hit in 2019 with their song "No More Parties" and the following year their video for "Crying to Techno" went viral.

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When Russia's anti-war protests turned into Aqua Disco parties

Such had been the popularity of 'Aqua Disco', that the song was often sung at protests against President Vladimir Putin-led military offensive against Ukraine. The protests were then called 'Aqua Disco Parties'.

Announcing Dima Nova's passing away, the pop group Cream Soda shared a post on Instagram.

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"We had a tragedy last night. Our Dima Nova, in the company of friends, was walking along the Volga and fell under the ice. The Ministry of Emergency Situations are still looking for his brother Roma and friend, Gosha Kiselev. Aristarchus, our friend who also fell under the ice, was caught, but could not be saved. As soon as we have information from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we will inform you," the group wrote.

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The group also posted photos of Dima Nova and his friend Kiselev saying, “An official identification took place today at 9:00. Dima and Goshi are no more.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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