Moscow’s Tagansky Court considered yesterday five cases of LGBT+ ‘propaganda’ and paedophilia, as well as the demonstration of queer people to children. Four of the fines are known to be 16 million roubles, the fifth could be between 1 million and 4 million roubles.
Online cinemas Kinopoisk and Amediateka were penalised at the request of Roskomnadzor. The court also fined cable TV channels START Air and TV XXI. In all cases, protocols were drawn up against employees of the companies. Thus the total amount of fines should be from 18.5 million to 21.7 million rubles for the four pictures.
Help us to work for the LGBT community in Russia. Sign up to donate $5 a month!
Kinopoisk: ‘paedophilia’ in the age of consent
The online cinema Kinopoisk, owned by Yandex, suffered the most. Roskomnadzor watched on it Gaspar Noé’s 2015 film ‘Love’. In the picture, the 16-year-old mistress of the main character gets pregnant, during the film there are many sex scenes, including group sex. The film’s rating is 18+.
In the film, censors saw two ‘propaganda’ at once: paedophilia (article 6.21.1 of the CAO RF) and LGBT+ (article 6.21 of the CAO RF). ‘Kinopoisk’ received a record amount of fines: 10 million rubles, including 7 million rubles for alleged “propaganda of paedophilia”. What’s particularly interesting is that under Russian law there is no paedophilia in the film:
‘We plan to challenge this protocol, as the criminal code clearly defines the age of consent as 16. Sexual intercourse with a person of that age is not considered a crime. In Gaspar Noé’s film, there is a sex scene between the student protagonist and his roommate, who is 16 years old according to the film. There is no coercion or violence in the scene. ‘The overall plot of the film consists of the suffering and experiences of the protagonist about his adultery, self-judgment of himself for the fact of adultery and debauchery, as well as nostalgia for his relationship with his beloved,’ stated Kinopoisk.
The film ‘Love’ may have been the first case of ‘pedophilia propaganda’. For him already fined the general director of the service Alexander Dunaevsky: also on two protocols. As a result, on one film from Kinopoisk, the state wants to get 11 million rubles.
‘Amediateka”: ladies flirting
Online cinema ‘Amediateka’ received a fine of 3 million rubles for ‘propaganda’ to LGBT+ adults (6.21 CAO). According to SOTAvision, the series ‘Gentleman Jack’ was supposed to ‘convert’ Russians into queers. At the same time, there are no same-sex scenes in the series, the service claims.
SOTAvision cites what Roskomnadzor considers ‘propaganda’:
‘The main character flirts’
‘There is sensual touching.’
‘The ladies look at each other in love.’
the girls are lying together on the bed, holding hands and having a massage
negative image of a man
‘Roskomnadzor caught on to the flair – say, ladies languidly looking at each other. The service has a huge amount of content from which all homosexual scenes have been removed. We did not expect to be picked on for the flair,’ said Amediateka.
However, critics consider ‘Gentleman Jack’ a ‘milestone in LGBT history’.
Alexander Zinoviev will be on trial today for the same article. Most likely, it’s about the sales director of ‘Amediateka’. As an official, he can receive a fine from 200,000 to 400,000 rubles. In total, Roskomnadzor wants to get at least 3.2 million rubles for the hints for one series.
START Air: Women’s Kiss 16+
Cable TV channel START Air has received its first fine for showing LGBT+ children (6.21.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation). For what, the court has not yet published, but most likely it’s about the film ‘Supernanny’. The fact is that the other day the channel’s chief editor Gulnara Kitanova was fined 100 thousand rubles for it.
The film was shown on the channel with a 16+ marking. Roskomnadzor uses this Achilles’ heel at every opportunity. As a result, the 2014 comedy brought the channel a fine of 3.1 million rubles.
TV XXI: The Girl with the Bracelet
The only case that the press service of the Moscow courts missed was against the cable channel TV XXI. It too was accused of showing LGBT+ children (6.21.2 of the Administrative Code). Under this article, the court could impose from 1 million rubles to 4 million rubles in fines.
Recently, Alexander Lavrenov, the head of the TV channel, was tried under the same article. He was fined 200,000 rubles for the drama ‘The Girl with a Bracelet’. As in the case of START Air, Roskomnadzor looked at it, jealous of the 16+ rating. We don’t know which particular scene excited the censors.
In total, the TV channel may be fined at least 1.2 million rubles and at most 4.2 million rubles.
Help us to work for the LGBT community in Russia. Sign up to donate $5 a month!
Iaroslav Rasputin. Translated with DeepL.com
