The Cherkessk City Court has found local resident Anastasia Melnikova guilty under an administrative article on the public display of the symbols of an ‘extremist organisation’ (‘the LGBT movement’), imposing a fine of ₽1,000 ($12).
According to the court decision, which was issued on 9 September, the case was based on images featuring rainbow symbols that had been posted on a VKontakte page in 2020. The case materials stated that officers from the Centre for Combating Extremism (‘Centre E’) discovered a profile under the name ‘your favourite not important’, which contained several pictures, including an image of clasped hands tied with a rainbow ribbon. According to the investigation, this page belonged to Melnikova.
Melnikova told the court that the profile had been created many years ago, and that she had not logged into it for the past five years. Despite the fact that the ‘LGBT movement’ in Russia was only recognised as ‘extremist’ by a Supreme Court ruling in November 2023, the authorities still charged Melnikova over the posts.
The ruling noted that Melnikova admitted guilt and expressed remorse, with the prosecutor thereby requesting the minimum penalty. The court also took into account a mitigating circumstance — Melnikova has three children, including two minors.
On 30 November 2023, the Supreme Court of Russia recognised the ‘international LGBT movement’ as an ‘extremist organisation’. Following the decision, administrative cases related to the display of certain symbols began to be initiated in various regions. In some cases, the cases ended with fines, in others with warnings.
According to the Russian independent media outlet Mozhem Obyasnit, over the past year, 61 administrative cases have been opened in Russia under similar articles related to the display of LGBT+ symbols. In a number of cases, the courts classified not only rainbow flags as ‘extremist symbols’, but also the rainbow itself, as well as photographs showing two girls holding hands.
The first administrative case after the introduction of the ban appeared in 2024. At that time, a court in Saratov fined photo artist Inna Mosina ₽1,500 ($18) for a rainbow flag on VKontakte. In May 2025, a resident of Bashkortostan was fined ₽2,000 ($24) for posting an emoji with the cover of a Pink Floyd album depicting a rainbow. In September, a court in Krasnoyarsk recognised the rainbow cover of the rap group Tyazhyolaya Atletika’s album ‘Injection’ as extremist symbols.
Elizaveta Chukharova
