Russia's epidemic of "LGBT propaganda" reports: you can now be reported for a bar sign, a rainbow logo — or a sculpture kiss
After nearly twenty years of anti-"LGBT propaganda" campaigns, Russia has built a system where the criteria for what counts as dangerous are deliberately vague — making denunciations a convenient tool for settling scores, eliminating competition, and personal revenge. Based on reporting by DOXA and Just Got Lucky, we look at the punitive system that has taken hold in the Russian Federation.
In January 2023, police in the Krasnodar region showed up to inspect a grocery store that had operated without incident for twenty years. The reason: a denunciation for "LGBT propaganda" — the store's logo featured a handshake above a rainbow. Shortly before the visit, a stranger had burst in shouting "you run a f*ggot shop", photographed the sign, and disappeared.
This is one of hundreds of cases documented since Russia's law banning the "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" came into force. Since 2023, OVD-Info has been tracking pressure on LGBTQ+ people — the chronicle now contains more than 300 cases. In many of them, a denunciation lies at the root.
The groundwork for denunciations was laid during Putin's second presidential term
How the system became a tool for settling scores
The vagueness of what counts as "dangerous" is not an oversight — it is the point. It turns the law into a universal weapon. In December 2024, a cocktail bar called "Podye! Bar" opened in Ulyanovsk with no connection to LGBTQ+ themes whatsoever. The very next day, a United Russia deputy filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office. In January 2025, police charged the owner: the grounds were a neon sign shaped like a penis, cocktail straws of the same shape — and the colours of the interior. White, according to the officers, symbolises freedom of gender choice; black symbolises gender fluidity. The result: a fine of 150,000 roubles.
Sex party organiser Yevgeny Ogibеnin told Just Got Lucky in a private exchange that the denunciation against him was likely filed by a competitor: the trigger was promotional material showing two women kissing. His fine came to 400,000 roubles, plus a three-year suspended sentence for one poster deemed pornographic.
"It is a way of getting the outcome you want by manipulating the system's homophobic response. The same thing happened with snow drifts: you would write 'Navalny' on a pile of snow so that the municipal services would finally come and clear it."
— Anna Narinskaya, curator of the BOXED exhibition
Even homophobes end up in the crosshairs
The mechanism has long since spread beyond the queer community. Lev Mironov was charged with "LGBT propaganda" for jokingly kissing a sculpture at Elektrozavodskaya metro station — in front of his underage friends. A Protestant church minister was detained over 2019 posts in which the church condemned homosexuality and quoted the Bible: police decided a rainbow in one of the images constituted "LGBT symbolism". In March 2025, far-right activists from Russkaya Obshchina called the police to a Russian Burners party — because of a sign reading "Gayts", which they interpreted as "gay you are".
Professional informants and marketplaces
Since the full-scale invasion began, networks of anonymous informants have been growing rapidly online. Themed Telegram channels publish their targets' personal data, links to their social media profiles, and ready-made template texts for complaints to the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Investigative Committee and Roskomnadzor.
Russian online marketplaces have become another platform for gathering denunciations. According to Anna Narinskaya, they are where law enforcement agencies compile their lists of "banned literature". In February 2024, a list of 252 works said to show "signs of LGBT propaganda" appeared in the press — including Dostoyevsky's Netochka Nezvanova.
Soviet logic in a new package
Journalist and queer activist Masha Gessen points out that the contemporary system reproduces the logic of Soviet terror — not so much through mass repression as through unpredictability. When the criteria for guilt are vague and punishment is disproportionate to any offence, monitoring yourself and those around you becomes a rational response.
"When you understand that you live in a society where punishment completely disproportionate to your behaviour can arrive at any moment, the desire to monitor not only your own conduct but that of others becomes an entirely rational mechanism."
— Masha Gessen
In January 2023, police in the Krasnodar region showed up to inspect a grocery store that had operated without incident for twenty years. The reason: a denunciation for "LGBT propaganda" — the store's logo featured a handshake above a rainbow. Shortly before the visit, a stranger had burst in shouting "you run a f*ggot shop", photographed the sign, and disappeared.
This is one of hundreds of cases documented since Russia's law banning the "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" came into force. Since 2023, OVD-Info has been tracking pressure on LGBTQ+ people — the chronicle now contains more than 300 cases. In many of them, a denunciation lies at the root.
The groundwork for denunciations was laid during Putin's second presidential term
- 2006 — Ryazan Oblast introduces the first law banning "propaganda of homosexuality" among minors.
- 2006–2013 — eleven more regions pass similar laws; in Kaliningrad the ban extends to adults.
- 2013 — a federal law banning "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" among minors is adopted.
- 2013 — content is routinely marked 18+; events are disrupted; formal charges begin under Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
- 2019 — criminal case opened against artist Yulia Tsvetkova for LGBT "propaganda".
- 2020 — the Constitution is amended to define marriage as a "union of a man and a woman".
- 2022 — the ban on "propaganda" of LGBT identities, gender transition and any "non-traditional preferences" is extended to all age groups.
- 2022 — self-censorship intensifies across media, streaming platforms, books and private life.
- July 2023 — transgender transition is banned: medical care, document changes and guardianship rights become impossible.
- 30 November 2023 — the Supreme Court designates the "international LGBT movement" as extremist; a wave of repression follows.
How the system became a tool for settling scores
The vagueness of what counts as "dangerous" is not an oversight — it is the point. It turns the law into a universal weapon. In December 2024, a cocktail bar called "Podye! Bar" opened in Ulyanovsk with no connection to LGBTQ+ themes whatsoever. The very next day, a United Russia deputy filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office. In January 2025, police charged the owner: the grounds were a neon sign shaped like a penis, cocktail straws of the same shape — and the colours of the interior. White, according to the officers, symbolises freedom of gender choice; black symbolises gender fluidity. The result: a fine of 150,000 roubles.
Sex party organiser Yevgeny Ogibеnin told Just Got Lucky in a private exchange that the denunciation against him was likely filed by a competitor: the trigger was promotional material showing two women kissing. His fine came to 400,000 roubles, plus a three-year suspended sentence for one poster deemed pornographic.
"It is a way of getting the outcome you want by manipulating the system's homophobic response. The same thing happened with snow drifts: you would write 'Navalny' on a pile of snow so that the municipal services would finally come and clear it."
— Anna Narinskaya, curator of the BOXED exhibition
Even homophobes end up in the crosshairs
The mechanism has long since spread beyond the queer community. Lev Mironov was charged with "LGBT propaganda" for jokingly kissing a sculpture at Elektrozavodskaya metro station — in front of his underage friends. A Protestant church minister was detained over 2019 posts in which the church condemned homosexuality and quoted the Bible: police decided a rainbow in one of the images constituted "LGBT symbolism". In March 2025, far-right activists from Russkaya Obshchina called the police to a Russian Burners party — because of a sign reading "Gayts", which they interpreted as "gay you are".
Professional informants and marketplaces
Since the full-scale invasion began, networks of anonymous informants have been growing rapidly online. Themed Telegram channels publish their targets' personal data, links to their social media profiles, and ready-made template texts for complaints to the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Investigative Committee and Roskomnadzor.
Russian online marketplaces have become another platform for gathering denunciations. According to Anna Narinskaya, they are where law enforcement agencies compile their lists of "banned literature". In February 2024, a list of 252 works said to show "signs of LGBT propaganda" appeared in the press — including Dostoyevsky's Netochka Nezvanova.
Soviet logic in a new package
Journalist and queer activist Masha Gessen points out that the contemporary system reproduces the logic of Soviet terror — not so much through mass repression as through unpredictability. When the criteria for guilt are vague and punishment is disproportionate to any offence, monitoring yourself and those around you becomes a rational response.
"When you understand that you live in a society where punishment completely disproportionate to your behaviour can arrive at any moment, the desire to monitor not only your own conduct but that of others becomes an entirely rational mechanism."
— Masha Gessen