The oldest gay club in St. Petersburg closed after the ban on the “LGBT movement”

The gay club “Central Station”, operating since 2005 in St. Petersburg, announced its closure. The owner of the site refused to renew the lease due to the ban on the “LGBTQ movement,” the club administration reported in “In contact with”. According to Telegram– channel “Caution, Moscow”, raids on gay clubs took place in the capital that night.

Police officers came to several clubs near the Avtozavodskaya and Polyanka metro stations. Inspections were also carried out in gay saunas, including Tsvetnoy Boulevard. A raid was reported at the establishment on Malaya Yakimanka, which hosted a party for the LGBT community. According to the Telegram channel, there were about 400 people in the establishment. The police carried out a check under the pretext of searching for drugs. Some visitors were detained by police.

In 2013, Russia passed a law banning the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations” among minors. In 2022, a law was passed that established a ban on the dissemination of any information that “promotes non-traditional sexual relations, pedophilia or gender reassignment” among people of all ages. On November 30, 2023, the Supreme Court of Russia, at the request of the Ministry of Justice, declared the “international public LGBT movement” extremist.

More details in the material “Strong Rainbow Squeeze”.

Alexandra Goroshilova