A Russian court on Monday sentenced the owner of an LGBT nightclub and two employees to prison in what authorities described as the country’s first criminal prosecution under legislation banning what Moscow calls the “LGBT movement” as an extremist organization.
The court ruled that nightclub owner Vyacheslav Khasanov, manager Diana Kamilyanova and art director Alexander Klimov had organized and participated in the activities of an extremist organization after operating the Pose nightclub in the southwestern city of Orenburg.
Khasanov, 37, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 1 million rubles, or about $12,800. Kamilyanova, 30, received a prison sentence of six years and three months, while Klimov, 23, was sentenced to two years and three months behind bars.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty during the proceedings.
The case stems from a police raid on the Pose nightclub, which had operated since 2021 and was known for hosting drag performances. According to independent Russian news outlet Mediazona, the venue later rebranded itself as a “parody bar theatre” as restrictions targeting LGBT-related events intensified.
Regional authorities and members of Russia’s National Guard raided the club in March 2024. Video circulated online by a far-right group showed patrons standing with their hands raised while masked men searched the venue. Other customers were filmed lying face down on the floor with their hands placed above their heads.
In its ruling, the court said the defendants had organized events that demonstrated “affiliation with people of non-traditional sexual orientation” for the club’s visitors while operating under the guise of running a nightclub.
The prosecution follows a broader crackdown on LGBT rights under President Vladimir Putin, whose government has increasingly portrayed LGBT rights as a Western ideology incompatible with Russia’s traditional social values centered on family, national identity and the Russian Orthodox faith.
Russia’s Supreme Court ruled in late 2023 that the so-called “LGBT movement” should be classified as an extremist organization, creating the legal basis for criminal prosecutions against LGBT activists, organizations and individuals accused of supporting the movement.
Since that ruling, Russian authorities have intensified enforcement actions. Music streaming services and online film distributors have been fined for hosting LGBT-related content, while employees of a Russian publishing house were questioned earlier this year over allegations of distributing books containing what officials described as LGBT propaganda.
Human rights lawyers representing Russia’s LGBT community have warned that the Orenburg prosecution is likely to become a legal precedent for future criminal cases involving LGBT organizations, businesses and advocacy groups. They argue the ruling could eliminate some of the few remaining public spaces that members of Russia’s LGBT community considered relatively safe.
