‘No sex permitted’: Russian police are raiding sex parties in search of ‘LGBT activities’
How sex parties became the latest target of Kremlin’s anti-LGBT rhetoric.
By Amalia Zatari and Anastasia Golubeva.
Russian authorities are targeting sex parties following the decision of the Supreme Court in November to designate LGBTQ movement an “extremist ideology”.
There have been at least six instances of police raids on public and private sex-themed parties in different regions of Russia in recent months.
Some of the events had no connection to the LGBTQ community.
In February, Russian police raided a night club in the city of Yekaterinburg which was hosting a sex-themed party named “Blue Velvet”, with its participants wearing balaclavas to hide their identity.
At least 50 policemen took part in the raid and some of them appeared to be members of FSB special security forces, the party organisers told BBC Russian.
The police forced everyone to unmask and asked for their personal information, one of the party organisers Stanislav Slovikovsky said.
“They asked me if there were any gays and lesbians at the party or [if there was any] LGBT propaganda. They also asked if people were taking drugs, though that seemed to interest them much less,” he said.
For over a decade, Russian authorities have been trying to outlaw homosexuality and strip members of LGBTQ community of their rights with a series of legislation identifying LGBTQ movement as an extreme ideology.
In 2013, the lower house of parliament passed a bill prohibiting so-called “LGBT propaganda”, which effectively limited any public debate on LGBTQ rights and relating issues.
Last year even tougher anti-LGBTQ legislation has been put in place.
In July, the parliament banned the transgender transition, which had been legal since 1997, outlawing gender-affirming surgical procedures, hormonal therapy, and gender change in official documents.
Last November, the Russian Supreme Court designated the LGBTQ movement an “extremist ideology.”
The LGBTQ was added to the list of extremist groups, along with Islamic State and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Supporting LGBTQ is now a criminal offence in Russia, punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
‘In the guise of BDSM parties’
The raided “Blue Velvet” party had done nothing to constitute a crime, Stanislav Slovikovsky told BBC Russian.
He said his party hosted erotic performances and some of them had elements of BDSM, a variety of sexualised practices or role play, in which participants were invited to engage.
At the same time, Slovikovsky said there were no expectations or pressure on the guests to have intercourse.
Yekaterinburg city police later issued a comment stating the security forces were conducting a “preventative” raid that night.
“Nobody can rule out that the LGBT community can hold their gatherings in the guise of BDSM parties,” argued Dmitry Choukreev, a member of Yekaterinburg public chamber.
Despite the authorities’ increasing crackdown on LGBTQ community in the past few years, “these people haven’t disappeared” he said.
“They still need to entertain themselves and realise their ideas. Thus, perhaps they might hold such events disguising as BDSM, which of course as of now is not prohibited,” he told BBC Russian.
Sex parties in Russia had been appearing in large cities for the past decade, mostly limited to cosmopolitan urban settings.
It is estimated that a relatively small proportion of population engaged in them, and they attracted representatives of the middle class with jobs in creative industries or IT.
They were meant to symbolise liberalism and tolerance within the Russian society, but with the approval of increasingly conservative laws, these trends are driven further underground.
‘Almost Naked’ scandal
Russian authorities’ clampdown on sex parties toughened in December, after the birthday party of social media influencer and TV hostess Anastasiya Ivleeva, where the dress-code demanded guests to show up in “almost naked” outfits.
The party was publicised on social media and among the guests were numerous A-list Russian celebrities, including Russian media personality Kseniya Sobchak, the daughter of a long-term associate and mentor of Vladimir Putin, Anatoly Sobchak, as well as a veteran pop-singer Philipp Kirkorov.
While most of the outfits featured meshed tops and laced lingerie, some were more revealing - like rapper Vacio’s single sock on his genitals.
The photos of the event sparked outrage among many.
Rapper Vacio was jailed for 15 days on a hooliganism charge and issued a fine of 200,000 roubles ($2154; £1705) for his sock-on-genitals outfit.
Ivleeva herself was issued a fine of 100,000 roubles ($1077; £852) for organising the party.
The hostess and her guests reportedly encountered problems after the photos were shown to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some of the celebrities who took part in the event claimed that they had prearranged media appearances cancelled and received threats of criminal prosecution.
Putin doubled down on the “traditional values” rhetoric in the wake of the presidential election in Russia which resulted in him winning his fifth term in office.
‘Intimidation’
The recent raids on sex parties followed the same pattern: police showed up, ordered everyone to lay down, taking everyone's ID details.
Most of the raids were covered by pro-Kremlin media, with some television channels disclosing personal information of the attendees.
The crackdown was not confined to public events. In at least two instances the police showed up at a private party.
Some of the male guests had been threatened to be sent to fight in the war in Ukraine, one partygoer told BBC Russian.
In the wake of increasing raids and public shaming, party organisers are getting cold feet.
In February, Moscow’s queer techno party Popoff Kitchen, well-known among the local LGBTQ community, and sex-themed Kinky Party both announced that they would stop holding any events in Russia.
“We received a warning that no events related to the topic of sex will be permitted from now on,” Kinky Party organisers said in their statement.
“I was fully aware that we were a perfect showcase to demonstrate that they could close down even the most famous party. It’s impossible to work knowing you can’t guarantee the safety [of your guests]’, Nikita Egorov-Kirillov of Popoff Kitchen told BBC Russian.
“All those raids, intimidation, noting down people’s personal information… This happens once, and that’s it, you won’t be able convince people your party is safe ever again,” she said.
Read the full story in Russian here.
English version edited by Kateryna Khinkulova.