Over the last few months, the joint efforts of Russian law enforcement agencies and ultra-right bullies have resulted in the closure of LGBTQ+ friendly clubs all over Russia. The most infamous episode of this campaign was the March raid on Orenburg’s LGBT club Pose, which was followed by Russia’s first criminal case against LGBTQ+ community members on the charges of “organizing an extremist group.” The club owner and two employees were arrested and placed in custody. As The Insider’s correspondent found out, not only former Pose patrons, but also representatives of visually distinctive subcultures such as the anime fandom, no longer feel safe in Orenburg. Even worse, they are afraid to go to the police, as recent Russian legislation has made them outlaws. It is a situation similar to Soviet times, when anyone whose fashion choices veered from the “norm” could find themselves in trouble with the authorities. Repression against Russia’s LGBTQ+ community intensified with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Late 2022 saw a tightening of the Russian law banning the propaganda of so-called “non-traditional sexual relations,” and in early 2023, the law began to be widely enforced. A ban on gender transition followed in July 2023, and in late 2023 Russia’s Supreme Court labeled the non-existent “international LGBT movement” as an extremist group. The new legislation triggered a wave of raids on LGBTQ+ establishments all over Russia.
via the insider: “Even rainbow-colored children’s toys are an offense!” How Russian regions battle ‘gay propaganda’ — and all bright things, just in case
