Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization.

Police searched venues across the Russian capital, including a nightclub, a male sauna, and a bar that hosted LGBTQ+ parties, under the pretext of a drug raid, local media reported.

Eyewitnesses told journalists that clubgoers’ documents were checked and photographed by the security services. They also said that managers had been able to warn patrons before police arrived.

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[–] 223 points 2 years ago (12 children)

To everyone cracking jokes about a gay uprising, it's a lot simpler than any of that.

They just want to exterminate the gays. Like literally. They want to find that portion of the population and destroy it, because they think it's disgusting and evil.

That's it. Putin and the Russian conservatives are going after gays because it's an easy win with their conservative base, and they can claim moral superiority. Also distracts from Ukraine.

If you are gay in Russia... Its a very bad time to be gay in Russia.

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  • [–] 87 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    American "conservatives" are over here drooling at the possibilities.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago (13 children)

    Florida here checking in.

    Our government is hard at work on this.

    Check out this pending bill up for vote during the next session: https://m.flsenate.gov/session/bill/2024/599/billtext/filed/pdf https://m.flsenate.gov/session/bill/2024/599/billtext/filed/pdf

    Essentially it makes it illegal to be transgender and have a job in government or government adjacent.

    Here is an excert: It is the policy of the state that a person's sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person's sex. This section does not apply to individuals born with a genetically or biochemically verifiable disorder of sex development, including, but not limited to, XX disorder of sex development; XY disorder of sex development; sex chromosome disorder of sex development; XX or XY sex reversal; and ovotesticular disorder.

    An employee or a contractor may not be required, as a condition of employment, to refer to another person using that person's preferred personal title or pronouns if such personal title or pronouns do not correspond to that person's sex.
    An employee or a contractor may not provide to an employer his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.
    An employee or a contractor may not be asked by an employer to provide his or her preferred personal title or pronouns or be penalized or subjected to adverse personnel action for not providing his or her preferred personal title or pronouns.

    It continues on about not being able to fire people for thinking being gay is a sin and so on, but I don't want this to be a novel.

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  • [–] 22 points 2 years ago

    This is just standard fascism. They need a constant stream of enemies weak enough that they can't defend themselves. Whom they can paint as responsible for all a societies woes.

    Fascism 101. We see Republicans employing that heavily here in the United States.

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  • [–] 21 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    That's it. Putin and the Russian conservatives are going after gays because it's an easy win with their conservative base, and they can claim moral superiority. Also distracts from Ukraine.

    There you said it. They don't care about gay people. They need an easy win with conservative public before future (mock) elections and to distract people from Ukraine. And they also want a weapon to proclaim anyone they dislike an extremist.

    Can you prove you aren't gay? Let's see. It'a either you record a video of apologizing for being gay, or we stuff a broom up your ass and you record a video of apologizing for being gay 🤗 Either way, 10 years in a joint.

    I've recently seen a good article in a ru-language blogosphere. These pieces of shit who climbed to the power in the 90s and 00s break every ladder to their positions, they want to establish themselves as new nobles, and they need a variety of tools to persecute whoever they dislike. They want the good ol' serfdom. They build it as we speak.

    It's not bad if you are gay and noble. Gref, Volodin, others are gossiped to be gay. Rather it's bad to be not in their club, like most do. Then you are in a risk of being persecuted and robbed of everything over nothing.

    It's 21th century and neo-feudalism is on the rise! Fuck, I hate it here.

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    [–] 142 points 2 years ago (14 children)

    Russia looking a lot like their old enemy the Nazis these days.

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    [–] 137 points 2 years ago (16 children)

    When you are losing the war you started.

    Blame gays.

    When your policies fail.

    Blame gays.

    When your government is less popular than cancer.

    Blame gays.

    When you are getting mass protests.

    Blame Jews. But Jews have nukes, oops. Then blame gays!

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    [–] 130 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (60 children)

    Well well well. I thought Russia said the nazis were in Ukraine. Huh. Funny, that.

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    [–] 80 points 2 years ago (2 children)
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    [–] 80 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    People want to be treated like human beings regardless of who they love? Yes, that’s a dangerously extreme view. Wanting to exterminate them all is perfectly normal, however.

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    [–] 75 points 2 years ago* (3 children)

    Ah yeah, the daily reminder that Russia has indeed become the comical evil country as it was always portrayed in Tom Clancys books, if not worse...

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    [–] 66 points 2 years ago

    clubgoers’ documents were checked and photographed by the security services

    That's the worst part. Being on any list of this state is a danger. Especially when they want another batch of bodies to once again storm Avdyivka. Hope they can nope-out from all possible traps. It's just... it would be totally spelled out they are here because they are gay, and it means a faith worse than death. Place is cursed.

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  • [–] 55 points 2 years ago (12 children)

    Hexbear and lemmygrad be like: "Russia is just avoiding a potential color revolution."

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Actual quotes from Hexbears that I got when discussing Russia with them:

    "Those reactionary shitstains [the Russian government] has little to be proud of."

    "Russia is extremly Reactionary [...] thats why Russia has a Real Problem with "White Supremacy" , [and] no problems with hunting down LGBTQ+ [...]"

    Now I don't exactly see anybody on Hexbear presently discussing this particular bit of news about crackdowns on LGBT+, but I'll go post about this news on Hexbear and see how the people there react. I have a feeling it's going to be consistent with my previous experiences discussing Russia with Hexbears, which is also going to be the reaction that I'd expect from an instance that skews heavily LGBT+.

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    [–] 53 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    ... and once they have rounded up and sent every minority into mandatory service for the war effort, there will be nothing left of the arts, sciences and cultural diversity, that makes a society blossom. They are undoing themselves, they don't need anybody's help.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Russia has had this problem for decades, even before the collapse of the Soviet Union this was a problem, who would want to live in communist Russia when you could live in a democracy in the west instead, and get paid for the privilege? Anyone with a brain left. After all, all the people smuggling through the Berlin wall was going in one direction.

    But yeah their current actions are making it far worse.

    Putin doesn't care about the future of Russia though, he only cares about his legacy. The Ukrainian invasion was supposed to be the start of the second Soviet Union. The plan was to also invade places like Poland (of course that was a terrible plan that would have almost certainly resulted in the third world war but there you go). To fall at the first hurdle like this is particularly embarrassing and dangerous because it makes him look weak, and in Russia you do not want to look weak because if you do you end up dead eventually.

    If Putin manages to die of old age I'll be amazed

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    [–] 50 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I dunno if anyone is interested but of you got some spare coins laying around the Canadian based charity Rainbow Refugee has been helping get out threatened LGBTQIA+ folks from multiple countries including Russia for quite a while now by arranging sponsorships and legal support and advice for LGBTQIA asylum seekers. If you know anyone looking to get out or would like to donate here's a link :

    https://www.rainbowrefugee.com/

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    [–] 46 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Meanwhile "pro lgbtq" hexbears keep licking Putins boots

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    [–] 33 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    extremist organization

    Of course, why did nobody ever think of targetting the President of Homosexual International?! Perhaps a drone strike? I bet he's hiding in a school or hospital somewhere in Ukraine.

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    [–] 21 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    With everything going on with Russia they still have time for this bullshit!

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    [–] 16 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    How I spent summer. Essay.

    In the morning we with my mom went to beach. There we've seen jellyfish(recognized as unwanted organization, included in the list of foreign agents).

    Then it rained(recognized as unwanted organization, included in the list of foreign agents). After rain came rainbow(which is element of extremist movement symbolics).

    Also mom showed me memorial in city center. Memorial is included in list of foreign agents, its activity in Russia is suspended by the court's decision

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (15 children)

    First they came for the >!socialists!< democrats, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a >!socialist!< democrats.

    Then they came for the >!trade unionists!< journalist, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a >!trade unionist!< journalist.

    Then they came for the >!Jews!< Gays, and I did not speak out— Because I was not >!a Jew!< gay.

    Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

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