Fridae

The two most famous Russian teenagers in the world - the pseudo-lesbian duo of the pop group Tatu - have been outed by Russian newspapers after they were snapped in a Moscow nightclub with their real male lovers.

The chart-topping duo stunned the pop world when they claimed they were red- hot lesbian lovers although the media have doubted their sexuality.

Yulia Volkova, 18, and redhead Lena Katina, 17, caused a storm of controversy when their steamy, lesbian-style video for their No1 single, All The Things She Said showed them kissing and fondling.

When Russian gossip writers questioned the sexy singers, the pair insisted the guys were merely security men.

According to the UK Sunday Mail's report, Svetlana Makunina, a journalist on Russian newspaper Zhizn told the writer: "Tatu pretend they don't have boyfriends but they do. They've been hiding two boys from their fans. Their boyfriends are both students who are a little bit older than themselves. Nobody in Russia believes they are lesbians."

Kevin O'Flynn, a columnist on the English-language newspaper, The Moscow Times, said: "The members of Tatu are about as lesbian as I am. The story is a load of bull. There hasn't been too much of a fuss in Russia about Tatu's claims to be lesbians. I don't think anybody believes it."

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The implied underage sex antics of their videos have raised a storm in Britain, where critics say Tatu is targeting "the dirty old man market." Children's advocates in the UK, who have called the duo "pedophilic pop," are trying to ban the video from airing on television.

British talk show host Richard Madeley who is one of the duo's fiercest critics also called for them to be banned, saying their sick image had an openly paedophile message.

"We are being told that these girls actually have underage lesbian sex in real life, and we are being told by their manager that he spotted a gap in the market - a pedophile gap in the market," Madeley told The Moscow Times recently. "That's sick and it's wrong, and personally I think Polydor should not be selling the record in this country."
The girls were 14 when they were discovered in Moscow by child psychologist and advertising executive Ivan Shapovalov who had admitted that the girls were an "nderage sex project"designed to appeal to men.

Shapovalov is rumoured to have shot two more music videos for the band. The first, for the song Nas Ne Dogonjat, sees the pair stealing a truck and running people over. The images are intercut with childhood photos of the girls naked. The second spot, for 30 Minutes, features Lena becoming angry after catching Julia with a man.

Although the pair has remained determined not to clear up questions about their sexuality, critics believe that their sexual ambiguity is a ploy to boost album sales.

"Maybe and maybe not," said Volkova when asked whether she and Katina were lovers at a news conference. "You know, we're not going to give a straight answer."