Two women who were filmed kissing each other at a restaurant in Russia have been fined more than $500 each for promoting “non-traditional relationships”, a Russian court said on Tuesday.
The pair, aged 24 and 19, exchanged rings and later kissed each other in the video, which appeared to show a mock wedding proposal at a restaurant in the southern city of Krasnodar.
Russia banned so-called “LGBT propaganda” over a decade ago and has progressively toughened its laws to outlaw any representation of what its authorities call “non-traditional” relationships in public or in the media.
“In February 2024, the girls posted a video clip with indecent behaviour in a public place… The police established their identity,” Krasnodar region’s court service said.
The court said the video was “scandalous” and that both had been charged with promoting “non-traditional sexual relations”.
“The court decided to find them both guilty of committing an administrative offence and imposed a penalty in the form of an administrative fine of 50,000 rubles ($544) each,” it added.
The amount is slightly under the region’s average monthly wage.
Footage obtained by the state RIA news agency showed the two later issuing grovelling apologies at a police station.
“I apologise to those who think that we are naturally pro-LGBT. We are against this topic. We all know what laws we have and we didn’t expect this to happen,” one of the women said, her face blurred.
When asked by a figure off camera why they recorded the video, she said it was “hype” for their subscribers on social media.
The Kremlin has further ramped up conservative rhetoric since launching its military assault on Ukraine, casting the conflict as a battle against the West and its values.
Russia’s top court labelled the “international LGBT movement” as extremist in November, making anyone who engages in pro-LGBTQ activism or shares LGBTQ symbols liable to prosecution.
