Russian authorities are continuing to target the LGBTQ+ community with a raid on the Zebra Club in Voronezh, where a drag queen event was being held.
The special police unit SOBR conducted the operation on the night of 22-23 November, detaining over ten attendees. Photos shared by pro-government media showed armed officers and partygoers, including a man in a blond wig, lying on the floor.
The Zebra Club raid follows the Russian government’s classification of the LGBTQ+ movement as an extremist organisation, effectively banning its activities.
The raid occurred during the club’s birthday celebration, which included a performance by drag artists. The event was reportedly headlined by Zaza Napoli (Vladim Kazantsev), a well-known drag queen, although he was not among those detained. Zaza Napoli was scheduled to perform in Moscow the following night, but there has been no confirmation whether the event took place.
The Zebra Club, once an open hub for the LGBTQ+ community, has been silent since the raid, with no updates from its Telegram channel. Its owner, Ivan Chaitbayev, remains unreachable.
Increased Targeting of LGBTQ+ Spaces
This incident is part of a broader pattern of police actions against LGBTQ+ spaces in Russia. Earlier this year, police raided the Rose Club in Orenburg, citing alleged extremism. In that case, organisers were detained, and the names of attendees were made public.
In August, Ilya Zhuravlov, the director of a medical centre in Inza, was arrested under similar charges. Authorities accused him of belonging to the LGBTQ+ movement, possessing pornography, and promoting Satanism.
In October, the Tochka Club in Chita was also raided, with right-wing blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov claiming that “homosexual orgies” took place there. Pozdnyakov, a pro-war propagandist, called for the arrest of participants as extremists. However, it remains unclear whether any arrests were made.
These raids reflect the growing repression of LGBTQ+ individuals and spaces in Russia. Once public venues for queer expression, many clubs have become targets under the guise of extremist investigations.
As Russia’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies intensify, events celebrating sexual diversity are being silenced, and prominent activists and performers like Zaza Napoli are left navigating an increasingly hostile environment.
