The police raids took place a year to the day after Russia’s Supreme Court banned the “international LGBT movement”, paving the way for arrests and prosecutions against the country’s already repressed LGBT+ community. Russian security forces raided at least three bars and nightclubs overnight “as part of measures to combat LGBT propaganda”, the official Tass news agency reported.
Videos circulating on social media show people sitting on the dance floor of a nightclub, while riot police walk around shouting orders. In another video, people are seen leaving the popular gay club Mono in central Moscow with their hands above their heads, with a police van parked outside.
“Non-traditional sexual values”
Police also raided a nightclub suspected of “propagating the ideology of the banned LGBT movement”, in the words of the Interior Ministry.
The 48-year-old director of the travel agency “Men Travel” was also arrested on suspicion of having “prepared a trip to Egypt for the New Year for supporters of non-traditional sexual values”, according to the Tass news agency, citing police.
The Kremlin has hardened its conservative rhetoric since the war against Ukraine began nearly three years ago, casting the conflict as a battle against the West and its values.
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