Moscow gay club raid: 50 detained by police in masks wielding guns
Disturbing video footage shows police forcing 200 club-goers to lie on the floor at gunpoint
More than 50 people have reportedly been detained in the Russian capital of Moscow after armed police raided two gay clubs there.
The arrests took place at Central Station and Three Monkeys, a set of clubs managed by the same team, and two of the most famous queer venues in the country.
The arrests were made on Friday 11 October 2024, according to pro-Putin, Russian language Telegram channels MSK1 and SHOT.
“Half-naked men dressed as women dance around the stage”
Disturbing video footage shows police forcing over 200 people at gunpoint to lie on the floor, before searching their belongings. Another shows police frisking people with their arms up against a wall, and kicking their legs apart. At least 50 were taken away by police for questioning.
Authorities claim the raid took place as part of a clampdown on drug trafficking, as per MSK1.
The news was also covered by Novaya Gazeta Europe, and subsequently, Advocate.
The raids coincided with National Coming Out Day, which takes place annually on 11 October.
“Half-naked men dressed as women dance around the stage, and the guy guests kiss each other freely,” alongside “all sorts of indecencies”, a source told the SHOT Telegram channel (as per Novaya Gazeta).
“Fragments from broken glasses were scattered everywhere”
The MSK1 post furthermore states: “Law enforcement officers asked visitors if they had drugs on them and if they had used them that evening.
“Fragments from broken glasses were scattered everywhere, and alcohol was spilled on the floor. Some visitors were lying face down on the floor, while others were standing, facing the wall, with their hands behind their heads.”
A third Russian language Telegram channel, Mash, shows performances from within the club. The channel refers to the clubs as “abodes of debauchery”, raided for “discrediting the Russian armed forces”, where drag artists “laughed at the military and parodied the airborne forces from the stage.”
LGBTQ rights have been in reverse in Russia since the introduction of the so-called ‘Gay Propaganda Law’ in 2013. Vladimir Putin signed in an expanded version of the law last year.
Inspired by England’s own Section 28, it effectively prohibits any public expression of LGBTQ existence.
Also known as the law “for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values,” similar laws have since cropped up in Hungary, Florida and beyond.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The territories have been engaged in conflict ever since.