MOSCOW (AP) — Russian police raided several bars and nightclubs in Moscow on Saturday as part of the government’s crackdown on “LGBTQ+ propaganda,” state media reported.
Smartphones, laptops and video cameras were seized, while clubgoers had their documents inspected by officers, Russia’s Tass news agency said, citing law enforcement sources.
The raids come exactly a year after the Russian Supreme Court ruled that the ‘LGBTQ+ movement’ should be banned as an ‘extremist organization’.
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The decision followed a decades-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has touted “traditional family values” as a cornerstone of his quarter-century in power.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show partygoers being ordered by police to lie on the ground as officers walked through Moscow’s Arma nightclub.
The capital’s Mono bar was also targeted, Russian media reported. In a message on Telegram on Saturday, the club’s management did not directly refer to an incident with law enforcement, but wrote: “Friends, we are so sorry that what happened happened. They didn’t find anything forbidden. We live in such times, but life must go on.”
Police also arrested the head of the travel agency ‘Men Travel’ on Saturday under anti-LGBT laws, Tass reported. The news agency said the 48-year-old was suspected of preparing a trip for “the followers of non-traditional sexual values” to visit Egypt during the Russian New Year holidays.
The raids reflect concerns from Russian activists who warned that Moscow’s designation of the “LGBTQ+ movement” as “extremist” – despite not being an official entity – could lead Russian authorities to crack down on groups at will or individuals.
Other recent laws have also served to put pressure on those the Russian government sees as not in line with the country’s “traditional values.”
On November 23, Putin signed a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender-affirming care is legal.
The Kremlin leader also approved legislation banning the distribution of material encouraging people not to have children.
