'Who washes Putin’s underpants?': British band Pet Shop Boys mock Russian dictator
Pet Shop Boys (photo: Getty Images)
British electropop duo Pet Shop Boys have released a song titled A Top Secret Washing Machine, dedicated to Vladimir Putin. In the track, the musicians mock the Russian dictator, his secrets, and the poisoning of his opponents, according to the band’s YouTube channel.
What Pet Shop Boys sing about
In the song, the musicians ask a series of sarcastic questions about the Russian president. In particular, they wonder who washes his underwear and keeps secrets “in a top-secret washing machine.”
“Who washes Putin’s underpants? Who has to keep them clean deep in the bowels of his residence in a top secret washing machine?” the song says.
The lyrics also contain lines about what happens when Putin “poisons an opponent’s underpants.” The songwriters wonder whether he laughs at his “brilliant scheme” and also mention the president’s possible nightmares about a prison cell.
At the end of the song, the musicians sing that his underwear is supposedly washed by a “devoted woman or man,” while the secrets will remain hidden “until one unlucky day it all comes out.”
Why the song was released now
In their description, Pet Shop Boys noted that the song is being released against the backdrop of parliamentary elections in Russia.
“It marks the first parliamentary election held in Russia since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” the note said.
The duo also provided information about the vote and quoted a 2021 speech by Navalny. At the time, the opposition politician called Putin a poisoner of underwear — a reference to the poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok.
Navalny’s poisoning was linked to the substance allegedly being applied to his underwear. At the end of his speech, he said Putin would go down in history as “Vladimir — the underwear poisoner.”
Pet Shop Boys release a song about Putin (photo: instagram.com/petshopboys)
What is known about Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are a British electropop duo consisting of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. The musicians have been working together since the 1980s and are among the best-known representatives of synth-pop.
The new song will not be included on their upcoming album A Man From The Future. The record will be dedicated to the life and legacy of British mathematician and cryptographer Alan Turing. It is scheduled for release on October 9, 2026.
