On March 16, Mikhail Chimarov, a Novgorod activist, was fined 50 thousand rubles ($650) for LGBT propaganda. In December, he arranged a closed screening of LGBTQ films, but it was disrupted by the police. Chimarov reported the news to the 7x7 media.
In Veliky Novgorod, activist Mikhail Chimarov was fined 50 thousand rubles for LGBT propaganda. In December 2022, he arranged a closed screening of films about LGBTQ personalities. However, the police raided the venue and confiscated the equipment.
The judge based his decision on the opinion of an expert from Novgorod University who found LGBT propaganda elements in the actions of a character who "moving from right to left, made a backward movement relative to a secondary character."
Mikhail Chimarov is appealing the court's decision, citing it as a violation of human rights and freedom of speech.
In November 2022, Russia enacted a law banning the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual behavior. Popcorn Books publishing house was the first to be punished for LGBT propaganda. The company refused to remove books about the LGBT community and instead sold them with covers quoting the article of the Constitution on freedom of speech.
The media later reported on a criminal investigation against a man in Belgorod for promoting LGBT propaganda due to a photo on social media.