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MOSCOW As culture wars over Russias moral core ratchet up, the country is descending into a national debate and official inquiry over twerking.

It all started with an innocent well, okay, maybe not so innocent videoof a dance performance in the Russian city of Orenburg, whichrests along the unofficial dividing line between European and Asiatic Russia.

The video shows a troupe of girls from the local dance school Credo dressed in orange-and-black striped leotards, bootie-shaking with the sort of gusto and synchronization that would put Miley Cyrus to shame, as a person dressed in a Russian version of Winnie the Pooh costume looks on.

The performers were supposed to be lithe little bees, thumping and fluttering around Winnie the Poohs honeypot.

But was it also a political statement, since they were wearing the orange-and-black striped colors of St. George which has become a symbol of Russian patriotism and especially, President Vladimir Putins United Russia party?

No matter. The video went up on YouTube on Sunday Russian Orthodox Easter garnered nearly 4 million hits, and has now sparked an inquiry by Russias federal Investigative Committee into, among other things, "depraved acts."

The jokes since the videos release have been endless and the incident has even inspired political jabs.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny scoffed on Twitter that the video was a thorough undermining of our ties that bind poking fun at how Putin famously worried in 2012 that Russian society is experiencing a clear shortage of spiritual ties that bind. The influence of the church in official moral regulation appears to have only increased since then.

Pavel Astakhov, the Kremlins ombudsman for childrens rights, called the video vulgar and insulting.

The Investigative Committee is concerned that the girls in the video are younger than 18. According to Russian tabloid news outlet Life News, the head of the dance studio said neither the children in the video nor their parents knew it was being posted online.

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WorldViews: A twerking video has prompted a national debate in Russia and an official inquiry