Raid on gay venues in Russia sparks fear in LGBTQ community
Late last Friday, the LGBTQ community in Russia faced a renewed crackdown as police carried out raids on gay venues in Moscow, according to reports from two independent Russian news outlets. The raids came just one day after the country’s Supreme Court ruled to ban the “international LGBTQ movement” and labeled it an extremist organization.
Eyewitnesses described a fearful scene as police entered the venues under the pretext of conducting routine drug raids and began photographing the passports of partygoers. Reports indicate that the raids took place at at least three entertainment venues in the capital, and at the Central Station Club in St. Petersburg.
Additionally, video footage showed a police van parked outside one of the venues with flashing lights, and police officers were seen at the entrance. Russian officials have not provided any comments on the raids, and state-run media has not mentioned them.
The raids are the latest in a series of measures that have targeted the LGBTQ community in Russia. Last year, President Vladimir Putin signed a law that expanded the ban on LGBTQ “propaganda,” making it illegal to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal.” The ban was further extended to include adults, making it illegal to publicly express non-heterosexual orientations.
The new laws have raised widespread concerns about the safety and rights of the LGBTQ community in Russia. Well-known Russian transgender blogger and LGBTQ activist, Milana Petrova, posted about the raids, saying they occurred at private LGBTQ parties, not nightclubs.
The raids and the recent Supreme Court ruling have reignited fears within Russia’s LGBTQ community, which has already faced an intensifying crackdown in recent years. As President Putin seeks to portray himself as a defender of traditional moral values against the liberal West, the LGBTQ community in Russia continues to grapple with increased restrictions and persecution.