Paris, 21 May 2025. On Thursday, 15 May, 2025, the Zamoskvoretsky Court in Moscow ordered the house arrest of three employees from the publishing houses Popcorn Books and Individuum. Around ten other employees had their homes searched. During these searches, law enforcement officers seized over a thousand copies of books accused of "promoting the LGBT movement, recognised as an extremist organisation", under Article 282.2(1.1) of the Russian Criminal Code, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. This article prohibits "inciting, recruiting, or any other form of involving a person in the activities of an extremist organisation", with a possible prison sentence of up to 12 years.
Among these works were two books by Becky Albertalli and the graphic novel Heartstopper by Alice Oseman.
These events follow police raids on several iconic bookstores in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Novosibirsk between March and April 2025. An administrative case was opened against the Moscow bookstore Falanster for collaborating with an "undesirable organisation", while the Saint Petersburg bookstore Podpisnye Izdaniya was targeted for "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations".
Publishing houses are being targeted by authorities
This "publishers’ case" stands out for its exceptional and alarming nature. It is the first time that the distribution of books could lead to a 12-year prison sentence. No queer book has yet been formally recognised as "extremist" in Russia.
According to the investigation, the "LGBT ideology", would contribute to:
– Create in readers an "attractive image of non-traditional (non-heterosexual) sexual relationships";
– Promote the "ideology of total moral equivalence" between traditional and non-traditional relationships;
– Legitimise same-sex marriage;
– Allow adoption and child-rearing by same-sex couples;
– Encourage the belief that such ideas are appealing and acceptable.
The distribution of these books would be considered an "extremist activity". On 30 November, 2023, the Russian Supreme Court officially recognised the "international LGBT public movement" as extremist. This term does not refer to any specific legal entity, as it targets all activism in defense of the fundamental rights of LGBTQI+ individuals—even any public association with the LGBTQI+ community. In its ruling, the Russian Supreme Court identified the six-striped rainbow flag as a symbol of the "movement" and cited the use of inclusive language as a distinguishing feature of its participants.
According to the ruling, this "movement" is part of a policy aimed at reducing the birth rate, notably by encouraging non-traditional forms of family relationships. As the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has already pointed out, the current demographic crisis in the country is fist and foremost the result of the ongoing war, the mobilisation and emigration.
Five days of jail for rainbow earrings
The Supreme Court’s decision of 30 November, 2023, which came into effect on 10 January, 2024, paved the way for new arrests and prosecutions targeting the LGBTQI+ community. Since then, raids by Russian security forces on LGBTQI+ clubs have intensified: criminal cases are being opened against the owners or managers of these establishments, while attendees of the events are, for now, being prosecuted under the administrative law concerning "LGBT propaganda".
The director of a travel agency offering trips for LGBTQI+ individuals was arrested for "creating an extremist organisation"; he took his own life a month later in prison.
Displaying and wearing symbols associated with an "extremist organisation" are subject to administrative sanctions (Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). One of the most well-known cases is that of a young woman in Nizhny Novgorod, who was sentenced to five days in detention for wearing frog-shaped earrings in rainbow colors. In total, human rights defenders have documented 64 administrative cases related to the display of LGBTQI+ symbols deemed "extremist" since the beginning of 2024. For example, a fine was imposed for sharing an image of the Pepe the Frog wearing a rainbow wig on social media in 2020.
A repression process already well established
On 19 May, a Moscow court fined Apple 7.5 million rubles (approximately 83,000 euros) for "LGBT propaganda". The exact reason for this decision remains unknown, as the company’s lawyer requested that the hearing be held behind closed doors.
The Supreme Court’s decision has strengthened an already established process of repression. Since 2022, raids have regularly taken place in Russian bookstores, with the seizure of "forbidden literature". In October 2022, the Ministry of Justice had already designated former owners of Individuum and Popcorn Books, Andrei Baev and Alexei Dokoutchaev, as "foreign agents". At the time, their prosecution was linked to the publication of the novel "Summer in a Pioneer Scarf", written by Elena Malisova and Katia Silvanova, who themselves were recognised as foreign agents in February 2023. The publishers were forced to sell their businesses and leave Russia.
The FIDH observes and is concerned about this new attack on the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals in Russia, which is part of a global trend of shrinking LGBTQI+ rights and the rise of reactionary ideologies. It calls for increased, constant, and collective vigilance.