Resident of Volzhsky fined for his post with rainbow flag

For his post with a rainbow flag placed in a social network, a court in the city of Volzhsky has fined a local resident under the article of demonstrating extremist symbols. The young man has deleted his post and admitted his guilt, referring to his "stupidity."

He was given a minimum fine of 1000 roubles, according to the Telegram channel of the United Press Service of Regional Courts.

The court took into account the positive characteristics from the young man's places of study and residence, along with his incentive diplomas, the "Kavkaz.Realii"* project has reported.

According to the project, the Pogrebnyak's case is the first known case under this article in Southern Russia related to the demonstration of LGBT** symbols.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after recognizing the "international LGBT** social movement" as an extremist organization in Russia, the Ministry of Justice of the Stavropol Territory stated that coming out – a public announcement of one's non-traditional sexual preferences – is treated as a statement of belonging to an extremist community and entails administrative or criminal responsibility.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

**On November 30, 2023, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation declared the movement an "extremist organization" and banned the "international public movement of LGBT people". With this decision, the court satisfied the claim of the Russian Ministry of Justice, sent to the court on November 17, 2023.