Seven years for drag shows. In Orenburg, the first real sentences were issued in the case of "LGBT extremism"

The Central District Court of Orenburg issued a verdict in the first criminal case in Russia on "LGBT extremism". The owner, administrator and art director of the private club Pose received real terms in prison.

On June 29, a court found three employees of the Orenburg bar Pose guilty of organizing the activities of an "extremist organization" and participating in it (Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

• Vyacheslav Khasanov (club owner) — 7 years general regime colonies. About a million rubles were also confiscated from him, which the court considered "income from extremist activities."
• Diana Kamilianova (administrator) — 6 years and 3 months colony.
• Alexander Klimov (art director) — 2 years and 3 months colony.

All three were taken into custody in the courtroom. The Memorial Human Rights Project had previously recognized them as political prisoners.

What exactly were they accused of?

The investigation considered the usual work of the nightclub to be a "crime": recruiting staff, holding parties with drag shows, as well as publishing videos and photos on social networks that allegedly "promoted non-traditional relationships."

The case materials separately emphasized the sexual orientation of the defendants. For example, investigators publicly revealed Diana Kamilianova's orientation, indicating it in official documents, which led to problems with her relatives. Among the material evidence of guilt were laptops, smartphones, stage clothes, wigs and false breasts.

How did the persecution go?

The first raid in Pose took place on March 9, 2024. It was attended by the police, riot police and activists of the nationalist organization "Russian Community". According to eyewitnesses, the security forces behaved extremely aggressively: visitors and employees were laid face down on the floor, beaten and insulted.

Later, telegram channels associated with the security forces published footage of the raid, which showed the faces of half-naked visitors and artists. The club employees themselves emphasized that Pose was the "last free place" in the city, where face control cut off only aggressive people, and not those who "do not fit into the standards."

Why is this important?

This case was the first after the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation declared the non-existent "international LGBT movement" an extremist organization in November 2023 and banned its activities.

The verdict in Orenburg sets a repressive trend:

• Scale: In 2024 alone, at least 42 raids took place in LGBT clubs in Russia.
• Deaths: In December 2024, Andrei Kotov, the owner of a gay travel agency, who was accused under the same article, died in a Moscow pre-trial detention center. He was found guilty posthumously.
• Tightening: In Chita, the owner of a similar club, Tatyana Zorina, was sentenced to 6 years and 2 months in prison in June 2026.

По данным правозащитников, после запрета «движения» 94% ЛГБТ-людей в России начали скрывать свою идентичность, а число случаев шантажа и вымогательства в отношении геев выросло в десятки раз. Как говорят бывшие сотрудники клуба Pose, теперь россиянам наглядно показали: «быть самим собой опасно».