Women who twerked in front of a WW2 memorial in Russia are jailed

In a YouTube video, six dancers are seen performing the provocative and popular move along to music while stood in front of the Malaya Zemlya monument in Novorossiysk, southern Russia.

Prosecutors said their 'erotic and sexual twerk dance' was disrespectful to those who fought in the war and jailed two of the women for ten days and a third for 15 days.

Two others escaped with fines, while another dancer avoided punishment altogether as she was under 16 - with a reprimand being handed down to her mother instead. 

According to the BBC, prosecutors said: 'This incident of disrespect for the memory of war history is unacceptable and any attempts to desecrate sites of military glory will be stopped immediately.' 

The Youtube video currently has more than 400,000 views and sees the six dancers performing a well-choreographed one and a half minute routine. 

After surfacing earlier this week,it was brought to the attention of the mayor of Novorossiysk, where the women are from.

The mayor was said to be 'outraged' and personally charged officials with identifying the names of the performers - who posted the video to attract new recruits to their modern dance school

'We condemn these women. Every inch of this land is covered in blood. It is inappropriate,' said Viktoriya Dikaya, the press secretary for the city's education department. 

Prosecutors are now said to be  carrying out checks at the institutions where the women, who were all under 30, are enrolled, to make sure they are in compliance with 'programs aimed at ensuring respect for the law among their members', reports RT.com.

The Malaya Zemlya memorial, completed in 1982, commemorates a battle to free Novorossiysk from German occupation in 1943.

The women's sentences come as Russia prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the Second World War victory. 

The incident comes just weeks after Russian officials closed down a dance school after footage emerged of teenage students performing hip-thrusting moves on stage. 

The video clip, entitled Winnie the Pooh and the Bees, showed a group of teenage girls dancing in striped leotards, long socks and mini-skirts at the Orenburg dance school in southwest of the country.

A committee is currently investigating whether the hip-thrusting performance amounts to negligence or even 'debauched action' - punishable by a range of sanctions from community service to three years behind bars. 

In 2012, members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were jailed after performing a protest song in Moscow's main cathedral - also on charges of hooliganism.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were not released until the end of 2013 after their act was seen as 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred'. 

(dailymail.co.uk)