Orenburg Court Slightly Reduces Sentences in Russia's First 'LGBT Extremism' Case

On September 8, 2026, the Orenburg Regional Court in Russia reviewed the appeals in the case that classified the local queer club Pose as a cell of an “extremist organization.” According to a report by the Kommersant newspaper, the appellate court upheld the prison sentences but reduced them by a few months.

The sentence for the venue’s owner, Vyacheslav Khasanov, was reduced from 7 years in a penal colony to 6 years and 10 months. Administrator Diana Kamilyanova’s sentence was shortened from 6 years and 3 months to 6 years, and art director Alexander Klimov’s from 2 years and 3 months to 2 years. Additional restrictions, including a ban on working in the entertainment sector, remained unchanged.

The Pose club case, which began in the spring of 2024, was the first criminal prosecution in Russia initiated in connection with the banning of the non-existent “international LGBT social movement.” The defendants did not admit guilt.