Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow on Friday evening, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned the so-called “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization.
Police searched venues across the Russian capital, including a nightclub, a men’s sauna and a bar hosting LGBTQ+ parties, under the pretext of a drug raid, local media reported.
Eyewitnesses told journalists that the club visitors’ documents were checked and photographed by the security services. They also said that managers managed to warn guests before police arrived.
The raids follow a decision by Russia’s Supreme Court to classify the country’s LGBTQ+ “movement” as an extremist organization.
The ruling, issued in response to a Justice Department lawsuit, is the latest step in a decades-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights under President Vladimir Putin, who has emphasized “traditional family values” during his 24 years in power.
Activists have pointed out that the lawsuit was filed against a movement that is not an official organization and that, under its broad and vague definition, authorities could take action against any individual or group deemed part of that movement.
Several LGBTQ+ venues have already closed following the decision, including the Central Station gay club in St. Petersburg. On Friday, social media said the owner would no longer allow the bar to operate under current law.
Max Olenichev, a human rights lawyer who works with Russia’s LGBTQ+ community, told The Associated Press before the ruling that it effectively bans organized activities to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
“In practice, what could happen is that with this court ruling, the Russian authorities are enforcing (the verdict) against LGBTQ+ initiatives that operate in Russia, as they consider them part of this civil movement,” Olenichev said.
Before the ruling, leading Russian human rights groups filed a document with the Supreme Court calling the Justice Department’s lawsuit discriminatory and a violation of the Russian constitution. Some LGBTQ+ activists attempted to take sides in the case but were rebuffed by the court.
In 2013, the Kremlin passed the first law restricting LGBTQ+ rights, known as the “Gay Propaganda” law, which bans any public support of “non-traditional sexual relationships” between minors. In 2020, constitutional reforms pushed through by Putin to extend his rule for two more terms also included a provision banning same-sex marriage.
After sending troops to Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin stepped up its campaign against what it called the West’s “degrading” influence. Human rights activists saw this as an attempt to legitimize the war. That same year, a law was passed that banned the propaganda of “non-traditional sexual relationships” between adults, effectively banning any public support of LGBTQ+ people.
Another law passed this year banned gender reassignment procedures and gender-affirming care for transgender people. The law banned any “medical procedure intended to change a person’s sex,” as well as changing gender in official documents and public records.
Russian authorities reject allegations of LGBTQ+ discrimination. Earlier this month, Russian media quoted Deputy Justice Minister Andrei Loginov as saying that “the rights of LGBT people in Russia are protected by law.” He presented a report on human rights in Russia to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, arguing that “restricting the public demonstration of non-traditional sexual relationships or preferences does not constitute a form of censure against them.”
The Supreme Court case is secret and it remains unclear how LGBTQ+ activists and symbols will be restricted.
Many people would consider leaving Russia before they were targeted, said Olga Baranova, director of the Moscow Community Center for LGBTQ+ Initiatives.
“It is clear to us that they are once again portraying us as an internal enemy in order to divert focus from all the other problems that abound in Russia,” Baranova told the AP.