Number One restaurant and nightclub, Yakutsk, Russia. Photo: Sibirsky Express
A court in the city of Yakutsk in the Russian Far East has fined a local restaurant and nightclub for hosting parties it described as “offensive” and “non-traditional”, independent news outlet 7x7 reported on Thursday.
Chinese restaurant and nightclub Number One was fined 250,000 rubles (€2,350) for “violations of public order” and spreading the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” by the court, which found the club to have hosted events that included “citizens being naked” and which were “offensive to human dignity".
The venue’s representatives partially accepted their guilt, but denied that they had ever promoted “non-traditional sexual relations”, according to 7x7.
The Yakutsk city administration said that it had sent reports of civil violations at the venue to both the regional Prosecutor’s Office and the police citing performances by “transgender women and men of non-traditional orientation from Thailand” that had been taking place at Number One since 26 December. The Club’s manager was detained on 2 January alongside the members of staff who were working when law enforcement visited the club.
According to the Sibirsky Express Telegram channel, Number One belongs to Yakutia-based entrepreneur Qinglu Zhu, who was fined with insubordination to a police officer in 2024, for which he was fined 2,000 rubles (€17).
Since the Russian Supreme Court declared the non-existent “international LGBT movement” to be “extremist” in November 2023, all LGBT activity has been effectively banned in Russia and law enforcement has regularly raided queer-friendly nightclubs across the country.
