‘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 video’s description quotes remarks Alexei Navalny made at Moscow’s Simonovsky District Court in February 2021. Navalny had just returned to Moscow from Germany, where he was treated after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. He was sentenced to prison on fabricated charges and sent to a penal colony. Three years later, he was killed behind bars — poisoned again, this time with epibatidine.Here is what Navalny said in court about Vladimir Putin:He has never taken part in a debate or an election. His only method of fighting is trying to kill people. And no matter how much he tries to portray himself as some great geopolitician, some great world leader, what he resents most about me now is that he’ll go down in history as a poisoner. You know, there was Alexander the Liberator. Or Yaroslav the Wise. And we’ll have Vladimir the Underpants Poisoner. That’s exactly how he’ll go down in history.In the song, the Pet Shop Boys revisit Navalny’s 2020 poisoning with Novichok. FSB officers entered his hotel room in Tomsk and applied the poison to his underwear.Who washes Putin’s underpants?Who has to keep them cleandeep in the bowels of his residencein a top secret washing machine?Who keeps his secrets secret?Is nothing or everything true?Is he fatally ill or strong as a horseimpossible to know or get close to?When he poisons an opponent’s underpantsdoes he laugh at his brilliant schemeknowing he’s got to the root of the problemdeadly but somehow obscene?Is it difficult to sleep at night?Does he always sleep alonewith nightmares of a prison cellsummoned to be be judged and to atone?No, he’ll get away with anythinglike Stalin and Peter the GreatHe’s the only one that ever mattersHe knows what he must dictateMeanwhile his underpants are washedby a loyal woman or manand his secrets will be secret untilthat one unfortunate day his shit hits the fanThe Pet Shop Boys often write songs about events in Russian history. In 2023, the band released a video called ”Living in the Past,” which compared Putin to Joseph Stalin, and in 2024 it put out ”Dancing Star,” dedicated to the dancer Rudolf Nureyev. In 2025, it released ”Hymn” in memory of Navalny.What is epibatidine, and how did it kill Navalny? A guide to the frog neurotoxin that five countries say poisoned Russia’s opposition leader.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.Cover photo: Jim Dyson / Getty Images