\n
One of Russia\u2019s largest publishers said on April 22 that some staff were being questioned by authorities over possible \u201cLGBT propaganda\u201d in its book catalogue, part of broader limits on gay and transgender \u200brights under President Vladimir Putin.Russian media reported on Tuesday raids by \u200cRussia\u2019s Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, at the Eksmo publisher\u2019s offices in Moscow and said several employees had been detained over a year-old criminal case.With Putin seeking to promote an image of Russia as a guardian of traditional moral values in contrast with a decadent West, Moscow has \u200cdesignated \u200bwhat it calls the \u201cLGBT movement\u201d as extremist and those \u2060supporting it as terrorists.
\nPrivate Russian \u2060companies including music channels, online film distributors and book publishers are routinely fined for hosting LGBT content.
\nIn a statement on Wednesday, however, Eksmo denied any \u201cinvestigative actions\u201d had occurred and said no books were seized. But it said Eksmo\u2019s general \u200bdirector Evgeniy Kapiev and three other employees had been taken for questioning.
\nIt was unclear if they had been formally detained.
\nUnder Russian law, charges must be filed \u2060within 48 hours of detention. The Kremlin has \u2060not commented on the case and the Investigative Committee did not \u200bimmediately respond to a request for comment.
\nCASE LINKED TO DEFUNCT COMPANY
\nIn its statement, Eksmo \u200bsaid the probe was related to titles published by another company, Popcorn \u200cBooks, which was bought by Eksmo in 2023 but closed this year.
\nPopcorn specialised in books for teenagers and young adults, some with LGBT characters or storylines. Summer in a Pioneer\u2019s Tie, a story about two boys who fall in love at a Soviet \u2060summer camp, was a hit in Russia, selling over 200,000 copies in its first six months.
\n\u201cThe criminal case was opened in May 2025 and concerned several titles with characteristics \u2060of LGBT propaganda, published \u200cby Popcorn Books prior to its merger with Eksmo,\u201d Eksmo said.
\nSeveral \u2060dozen books with LGBT content were not accounted for in \u200bstock records \u200cand were sold during the closure of Popcorn, prompting \u200bthe charges, it \u2060said. \u201cWe assume that the current questioning is linked to the testimony given by the Popcorn Books employees who are accused in this case.\u201d
\nEarlier this month, Eksmo told the RBC newspaper it was using artificial intelligence and other methods to review its inventory \u2013 which includes 3 million titles stretching back to 1990 \u2013 for banned content.<\/p>\n
The Canadian television drama Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie as a Russian hockey player who falls in love with a Canadian rival played by Hudson Williams. (Photo courtesy of Crave)<\/p>\n
Russian news outlet fined over Heated Rivalry review for spreading \u2018LGBT propaganda\u2019
\nIn Russia, online content is regulated by the state communications watchdog, which enforces strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws prohibiting queer exposure
\nBy\u00a0Aaron Sugg<\/p>\n
The Russian news outlet SarBC has been fined by a Russian court over a written review of the Canadian drama series Heated Rivalry, after authorities claimed it spread \u201cLGBT propaganda.\u201d
\nThe Oktyabrsky District Court in Saratov fined the local news agency 500,000 roubles (approximately $6600 USD) this week following the court filing on March 10.
\nThe Russian news outlet published an article titled \u201cWhy Did Heated Rivalry Become Popular?\u201d on February 6, which has since been taken down.
\nThe outlet\u2019s IT director Andrei Bashkaikin was separately fined 50,000 roubles (approximately $660 USD) on April 7 by a local magistrate.
\nIn light of the claims that the\u00a0Heated Rivalry review was \u201cLGBT propaganda,\u201d an anonymous SarBC employee told Mediazona it was a \u201charmless review.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a certain TV series that\u2019s being actively discussed right now,\u201d they told the outlet. \u201cThe article just came from a link exchange. It was published for a short time, but we quickly took it down. It\u2019s a harmless review, the kind of which is all over the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2013, Russia passed a law commonly called the anti-LGBTQ law that prohibits children from being exposed to \u201cnon-traditional family values.\u201d The legislation was expanded in December 2022, banning \u201cLGBT propaganda\u201d for all ages.
\n See Also<\/p>\n
In 2023, the country\u2019s Supreme Court declared the so-called \u201cinternational LGBT movement\u201d an extremist organisation, targeting positive LGBTQ+ expression more harshly. One of Russia\u2019s largest publishers said on April 22 that some staff were being questioned by authorities over possible \u201cLGBT propaganda\u201d in its book catalogue, part of broader limits on gay and transgender \u200brights under President Vladimir Putin.Russian media reported on Tuesday raids by \u200cRussia\u2019s Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, at the Eksmo publisher\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3659155457675267_172535249438148":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests.jpg",1164,1072,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-300x276.jpg",300,276,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-768x707.jpg",618,569,true],"large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-1024x943.jpg",618,569,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests.jpg",1164,1072,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests.jpg",1164,1072,false],"tie-small":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-110x75.jpg",110,75,true],"tie-medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-310x165.jpg",310,165,true],"tie-large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-310x205.jpg",310,205,true],"slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-660x330.jpg",660,330,true],"big-slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Russia-escalates-crackdown-on-LGBT-content-with-fines-and-arrests-1050x525.jpg",1050,525,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSeveral human rights groups have condemned Russia\u2019s stance on LGBTQ+ issues, including Human Rights Watch.
\nIts Europe and Central Asia director Hugh Williamson said Russian legislation \u201cweaponises\u201d the queer community, describing it as \u201cdraconian.\u201d
\n\u201cRussian authorities weaponise and misuse the justice system as a tool in their draconian crusade to enforce \u2018traditional values\u2019 and marginalise and censor LGBT people,\u201d Williamson said.
\n\u201cRussia\u2019s international partners should call on the government to end its persecution of LGBT people and their supporters,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cOther governments should also provide safe haven and meaningful protection to those fleeing Russia for fear of prosecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and their public expressions of support for LGBT rights.\u201d
\nRussia\u2019s Ministry of Justice ruled last year ILGA World, a global LGBTQ+ human rights group, as an \u201cundesirable organisation,\u201d making it a criminal offence to work advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
\nILGA World executive director Julia Ehrt said in a\u00a0statement: \u201cNo matter how much governments will try to legislate LGBTI people out of existence, movements will stay strong and committed, and solidarity remains alive across borders.\u201d
\nCrave\u2019s gay hockey series,\u00a0Heated Rivalry, starring\u00a0Hudson Williams\u00a0and\u00a0Connor Storrie, is not available to stream in Russia.<\/p>\n\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"