DoomsdaysCW<p>Coming soon to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USA</span></a>! (Though I wonder what <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> will do with his openly <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/gay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gay</span></a> cronies and a Veep who likes to dress in drag? But just like with the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Nazis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Nazis</span></a>, I guess it's okay to be gay if you're part of the 'inner circle'?)</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Putin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Putin</span></a>’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Russia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Russia</span></a>: first arrests under new <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AntiLGBT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AntiLGBT</span></a> laws mark new era of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/repression" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>repression</span></a> </p><p>Published: April 8, 2024</p><p>"Just over three decades after Russia <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/decriminalised" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>decriminalised</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/homosexuality" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>homosexuality</span></a> in 1993, three people have been arrested and charged under the country’s harsh new anti-<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LGBT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LGBT</span></a> laws and could face ten years in prison for membership of an '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExtremistOrganisation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ExtremistOrganisation</span></a>'.</p><p>"The arrests are a clear indication of how Russia has come full circle on its persecution of sexual minorities under Vladimir Putin.</p><p>"On March 21, the district court of Orenburg city in south-western Russia ordered the arrest of nightclub owner <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/VyacheslavKhasanov" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>VyacheslavKhasanov</span></a>. The nightclub, which is called <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Pose" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Pose</span></a>, has never explicitly identified as a gay club – styling itself as a 'parody theatre bar', it hosted parties with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DragQueen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DragQueen</span></a> artists and go-go dancers as entertainment.</p><p>"In a press release announcing the arrest, the court said that as the owner of the club, Khasanov organised participation in an extremist organisation, 'acting as the leader of an organised group of persons by prior conspiracy'. The specific actions included organising the work of such premises, and publishing photos and videos from performances 'promoting non-traditional sexual relationships and preferences'. Khasanov was arrested at the airport when trying to flee the country.</p><p>"His arrest followed the arrest and detention of two of his employees. The club’s art director, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AlexanderKlimov" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AlexanderKlimov</span></a>, and administrator <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DianaKamelyanova" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DianaKamelyanova</span></a> were arrested and sentenced to two-months pre-trial detention for, the Orenburg court said, 'promoting <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nontraditional" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>nontraditional</span></a> sexual relations among the visitors of the bar.'"</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://theconversation.com/putins-russia-first-arrests-under-new-anti-lgbt-laws-mark-new-era-of-repression-226864" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">theconversation.com/putins-rus</span><span class="invisible">sia-first-arrests-under-new-anti-lgbt-laws-mark-new-era-of-repression-226864</span></a> <br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WorldPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WorldPol</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USPol</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GBLTQRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GBLTQRights</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GBLTQ" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GBLTQ</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Repression" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Repression</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Authoritarianism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Authoritarianism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RudolfHess" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RudolfHess</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Hypocrisy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Hypocrisy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MAGA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MAGA</span></a></p>