Russia’s authorities have banned the Elton John AIDS Foundation, claiming it is “undesirable” and undermines the “traditional spiritual and moral values” of the country.

The decision means the foundation can no longer operate in Russia and staff associated with the organisation face prosecution.

Established by the iconic gay singer and songwriter in 1992, the Elton John AIDS Foundation works to support HIV prevention, education and treatments, having raised more than $600,000 million in its three decade history.

The prosecutor’s office in Russia said the ban applies to the US and UK branches of the organisation over their support for LGBTQ+ rights, which it described in a statement on its official website as “promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships, Western family models, and gender reassignment”.

On Telegram, the office said of the foundation: “When a musician plays along with the promoters of democracy, you get propaganda. And if Elton John is at the piano, it is not just anti-Russian propaganda.

“The NGOs actively participate in an information campaign orchestrated by the ‘collective West’ to discredit traditional values and escalate social tensions.”

In recent years, LGBTQ+ rights have been near totally eroded in Russia under its anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda” law which saw the so-called “international LGBT movement” – which does not exist as an organisation – labelled as “extremist” by the Russian government in 2023.

Since then, the propaganda law has seen a man fined for joking he started the LGBTQ+ movement, queer bar staff and venue owners jailed, more than 50 club-goers detained at a club night, language-learning app Duolingo forced to remove its inclusive content, children’s cartoon My Little Pony being labelled 18+ and a gay student expelled from university for posting make-up videos.

Reports have also arisen of people being thrown into jail for being believed to be involved with the LGBTQ+ community, held in abhorrent conditions and dying whilst in custody.

In a statement, the organisation said it was “devastated” and the decision means lifesaving care will no longer be able to be provided to people in Russia who need it.

“For more than two decades, we have worked in collaboration with federal and non-governmental partners in Russia to provide hundreds of thousands of people with vital HIV services, including testing, treatment, and care,” it said in a statement.

“This work is urgent: in 2024, there were over 1.2 million people living with HIV in Russia, with over 430,000 not receiving treatment. Today’s decision… will undoubtedly endanger lives and disrupt critical HIV prevention efforts.”

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