February 04 2026, 08:15 
A 22-year-old Russian man has been fined under the country’s “LGBT Propaganda” law for posting a photo on social media showing members of the rock band Queen dressed in drag.
David Gevondyan lost his appeal to the Moscow City Court, which declared the photograph – a still from the music video for the song I Want to Break Free – showed a “positive assessment of the rationale for non-traditional sexual relations, characterized as natural.”
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The court ruled his actions “distort” the concept of a heterosexual relationship and are akin to “destroying family values.”
The photo in question (shown on Instagram below) was part of a promo shoot for the music video. It shows the four band members posing by a stairwell inside a feminine home.
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Under Russian law, so-called LGBTQ+ “propaganda” has been banned in the presence of minors since 2013. In late 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation expanding the 2013 law to effectively outlaw any public expression of LGBTQ+ life in the country. And in 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court declared the “international LGBT social movement” an “extremist organization.”
“Public approval and the promotion of the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations is dangerous not only for children and young people who are not yet capable of critical thinking, but also for society as a whole,” the ruling stated, as reported by Russia’s Verstka Media, “as it poses a threat to the country’s demographic growth and economic development.”
The court also slammed Gevondyan for having previously posted photos of men in skirts and two men kissing.
Gevondyan has been fined for three administrative offenses. He has also been charged with a fourth, “displaying
Last year, independent news outlet Meduza reported that Russian officials and state-aligned media regularly describe Russia’s LGBTQ+ community as a network of “paramilitary groups” calling for an “open gender war,” who engage in “dehumanization” and “devil worship.”
The country has been cracking down on so-called “LGBT propaganda” as of late. In January, authorities charged executives at some of the country’s top streaming services with violating the law, which some have posited is connected to the success of gay hockey romance Heated Rivalry in the country.
Also in January, a young adult-focused imprint of Russia’s largest book publisher, Eksmo, shut down after being targeted by the government.
And in December, Russian officials blocked access to U.S. children’s online gaming platform Roblox, claiming that it is “rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children.”
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