Russian Musician Dima Nova Dies After Falling Through Icy River

Cream Soda's founder, whose music was played during anti-war demonstrations in Russia, died on Sunday after sliding through the ice while attempting to cross a river.

According to the independent Russian outlet Meduza, Dmitry Svirgunov, also known as Dima Nova, was traveling across the frozen Volga River with his sibling and three friends when he slipped through the ice.

He was 35.

Two of Svirgunov's friends were rescued from under the ice while the third later died in an ambulance, reports New York Post.

At demonstrations against the conflict in Ukraine, the hit song "Aqua Disco" by the well-known electronic group was frequently sung.

Svirgunov's death was confirmed by Cream Soda 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."

In 2012, Svirgunov and Ilya Gadayev founded Cream Soda, which has since put out four studio recordings.

Along with the bands Khleb and Loud, the band has worked with musicians like Feduk, Alyona Sviridova, Antokha MC, and Alexander Gudkov.

In 2017, they released a song named "Volga" which contains lyrics about going "under the bottom" and drowning.

They gained notoriety in 2021 when Russian comedian Alexander Gudkov parodied President Vladimir Putin in a video using their music after he was charged with constructing a $1.3 billion mansion known as "Putin's Palace."

The mansion's hookah lounge and a room that was allegedly characterized as an "aquatic disco" was joked 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 music rapidly became popular and a mainstay at protests, which the Moscow Times claims came to be known as "all-Russian aquatic disco parties."