Alexander Nemenov Agence France-Presse In a Moscow pub, Dmitry, who calls himself Kamilla Crazy White, performs at a drag queen show on November 13 2022. In Russia, repression against LGBTQ+ people is getting tougher, with the country positioning itself as the standard bearer of “traditional” values in the face of the supposed decadence of the West.
Police raids took place in Moscow on nightclubs frequented by the LGBTQ+ community as well as a men's sauna, in what appears to be a coordinated operation, Russian media reported on Saturday.
This comes two days after the ban in the country of the “international LGBT movement” for “extremism”, in the midst of a conservative offensive targeting these communities.
In a nightclub in the Russian capital, the police “stopped the music” and began searching the premises, a witness told the Ostorozhno Novosti media outlet.
The agents photographed the passports of those present, according to him.
At least three establishments and a sauna for men were targeted by these raids, according to the media SOTA and Ostorozhno Novosti.
AFP was not immediately able to verify this information.
On Friday evening, the Central Station nightclub, one of the oldest gay clubs in St. Petersburg, announced its closure because of the ban on the “international LGBT movement”.
A law, denounced as an instrument of homophobic repression, already prohibited the “propaganda” of “non-traditional sexual relations”, under fine, but Thursday's ban paves the way for prison sentences.
In Russia, repression against LGBTQ+ people is getting tougher, with the country positioning itself as a standard-bearer of values ” traditional” in the face of the supposed decadence of the West.
The last decade has seen their rights drastically limited, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, supported by the Orthodox Church.