Moscow Police Raid Gay Clubs, Detaining 50 On National Coming Out Day
Police wearing masks and wielding guns raided two of Moscow’s most famous LGBTQIA+ venues, Central Station and Three Monkeys, on Friday, October 11, 2024. The raids, which coincided with National Coming Out Day, resulted in the detention of more than 50 people and left the clubs in disarray.
Visitors were forced to lie face down on the floor at gunpoint
Video footage from the scene shows police forcing over 200 clubgoers to lie on the floor at gunpoint while they searched their belongings. Another video depicts police frisking people against a wall, kicking their legs apart.
According to pro-Putin Telegram channels MSK1 and SHOT, the raids were part of a clampdown on drug trafficking. However, a source told SHOT that “half-naked men dressed as women dance around the stage, and the guy guests kiss each other freely” alongside “all sorts of indecencies.”
Mash, another Russian language Telegram channel, showed performances from within the club, referring to them as “abodes of debauchery” where drag artists “laughed at the military and parodied the airborne forces from the stage.”
LGBTQIA+ rights have been in reverse since the introduction of the “Gay Propaganda Law”
The raids highlight the ongoing struggle for LGBTQIA+ rights in Russia, which have been in decline since the introduction of the so-called “Gay Propaganda Law” in 2013. Last year, Vladimir Putin signed an expanded version of the law, effectively prohibiting any public expression of LGBTQIA+ existence. Similar laws have since emerged in Hungary and other places, inspired by England’s Thatcher-era Section 28.
The raids on Central Station and Three Monkeys occurred against the backdrop of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As the conflict continues, the LGBTQIA+ community in Russia faces increasing discrimination and persecution.
