On Saturday night, the uniformed men broke into major Moscow clubs under the pretext of looking for drugs, media and social networks reported. There were also arrests. There was initially no comment from the police, who, according to eyewitnesses, also photographed passports, including those of foreigners.
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday approved a request from the Justice Ministry to classify the “movement” for the rights of sexual minorities and people of different gender identities as “extremist.” In Russia, lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals (LGBT), among others, have been subjected to increasing political persecution for years.
A court in St. Petersburg on Friday ordered a music television channel to pay 500,000 rubles (5,088 euros) for showing a video of Russian pop star Sergei Lazarev depicting a scene of tenderness between two women. The video for the song “Tak krassiwo” (in German: So beautiful) violated the ban on “homo propaganda”, which criminalizes public displays of same-sex love.
Although homosexuality is not forbidden in Russia, it is largely taboo. Under Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sees himself as a fighter against Western liberalism, repression against sexual minorities and people of different gender identities has increased massively in recent years. Many of those affected have left Russia out of fear for their lives. Commentators speak of an “Iranization” or “Nazification” of the country. Human rights activists complain that violence against homosexuals and calls for murder often have no consequences for the perpetrators.