After the decision of the Supreme Court in November 2023, which declared the LGBTK movement an "extremist ideology", the Russian authorities are now targeting sex parties.
In the last few months, the police have conducted at least six raids during public and private sex parties in different regions of Russia.
Some of those events had nothing to do with the LGBT community.
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In February, Russian police raided a nightclub in the city of Yekaterinburg where a "Blue Velvet" sex party was taking place, with guests wearing phantoms to hide their faces.
At least 50 police officers took part in the raid, and among them there were apparently members of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), party organizers told the BBC Russian service.
The police asked all those present to take off their phantoms, as well as personal information, said Stanislav Slovikovski, one of the organizers of the party.
"They asked me if there were gays and lesbians at the party or [if there was] LGBT propaganda.
"They also asked if drugs were being consumed, although they were much less interested in that," he said.
For more than a decade, the Russian authorities have passed many laws that label the LGBT movement as an extremist ideology and make homosexuality illegal and take away the rights of members of the community.
In 2013, the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, adopted a law banning so-called "LGBT propaganda", which limits public discussion of the rights of the LGBTK community and related issues.
Last year, an even stricter law against the LGBTK community was passed.
In July, the Duma adopted an act banning transgender transition, which has been legal since 1997, which includes a ban on gender reassignment surgical procedures, hormone therapy and gender reassignment in official documents.
Last November, the Russian Supreme Court declared the LGBTK movement an "extremist ideology".
LGBTK has been added to the list of extremist groups, along with the Islamic State and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Support for LGBTK is now a criminal offense in Russia, punishable by up to ten years in prison.
'Under the guise of a BDSM party'
At the "Blue Velvet" party, nothing was done that could be considered a criminal act, Stanislav Slovikovski told the BBC Russian service.
He explained that there were erotic points at his party and that some of them had elements of BDSM, various sexual games or role-playing, which include bondage, domination, sadism and masochism, and that visitors were invited to participate in them.
Slovikovski stressed that visitors are not expected or forced to have sexual relations.
Yekaterinburg city police later announced that security forces were conducting a "preventive" raid that night.
"No one can rule out the possibility of the LGBT community gathering under the auspices of BDSM parties," claims Dmitry Chukreyev, a member of the Yekaterinburg Chamber of Citizens.
Despite the authorities' increasingly strong fight against the LGBT community in recent years, "these people have not disappeared," he said.
"They still want to have fun and realize their ideas."
"That's why there is a possibility that they hold such events under the guise of BDSM parties, which of course is not prohibited for now," he told the BBC Russian service.
During the past decade, sex parties have been organized in Russia, but mostly in larger cities.
It is estimated that they are visited by a relatively small number of people, and the most interested are members of the middle class employed in creative industries and the IT sector (programming).
Such parties are supposed to symbolize liberalism and tolerance in Russian society, but due to the adoption of increasingly conservative laws, they are being moved even deeper into the underground.
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The scandal surrounding the 'Almost Naked' party
The Russian authorities' crackdown on sex parties intensified in December, after the birthday party of TV presenter Anastasia Ivleeva, who is considered an influential woman on social networks.
The birthday girl asked the guests to appear "almost naked" at the party, and photos from the party were published on social networks.
There were many famous people from Russian social life at the party, including Ksenia Sobchak, daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, a long-time associate and mentor of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the popular singer of the older generation, Philip Kirkorov.
While most of the guests wore fishnet tops and lacy underwear, some were more daring, like rapper Vaci, who wore a sock over his genitals.
Photos from the party angered many.
Because of the 'sock' on his genitals, rapper Vacio was charged with hooliganism and sentenced to 15 days in prison and a fine of 200.000 rubles ($2.154).
As the organizer of the party, Ivleeva was fined 100.000 rubles ($1.077).
The birthday girl and her guests reportedly had problems after the photos were shown to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some of the celebrities who attended the party claimed that their already arranged media appearances were canceled and that they were threatened with criminal charges.
After the presidential elections in which he won the fifth mandate, Putin insists even more strongly on "traditional values".
'intimidation'
Recent raids on sex parties follow the same pattern: the police come in, order everyone to lie on the floor, and ask everyone for ID and write down information.
Most of the raids were reported by the Kremlin-supporting media, and some television channels also revealed the personal information of party guests.
The police did not only raid public events, but in at least two cases they also appeared at private parties.
Some men were threatened with being sent to the front in Ukraine, one of the partygoers told the BBC Russian service.
Due to increasingly frequent raids and public condemnation, organizers are slowly giving up on parties.
In February, Moscow queer techno outfit Popoff Kitchen, popular among members of the local LGBT community, and Kinky Party, which organizes sex parties, announced that they would no longer hold any events in Russia.
"We received a warning that no more sex-themed events are allowed," the Kinki Party organizers said in a statement.
"I was fully aware that we were the perfect example on which they would show that they could ban even the most famous party.
"It is impossible to work knowing that you cannot guarantee the safety [of your guests]," Nikita Yegorov-Kirilov of Popof Kitchen told the BBC Russian service.
"All those raids, intimidation, recording people's personal data...
"Once that happens, you can never convince people that they will be safe at your party," explains Nikita.
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