Meet the Man Leading Moscow’s Holy War Against Gays Who Dance

A group of Evangelical Christians in Moscow are terribly displeased homosexuals are allowed to dance and revel inside a private nightspot. Cue the picketing! Oh, and the arrests of gays! “‘Moscow is Not Sodom’ chanted a group of 70 people on Saturday in Moscow during a public protest. The action organised by the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians (Pentecostals) was allowed by the city authorities. In July, the Prefect of the Northern district of Moscow, Oleg Mitvol [pictured], started a campaign for morality, targeting gay clubs, saunas and ‘love hotels’. The campaign accelerated on Friday evening when the Prefect broke up into the Body & Soul club with the anti drug police and the prosecution department, arresting two visitors.”

MORE: “Officially, [Friday’s] ‘investigation’ was directed at searching for any irregularities in the operation of the club, such as drug and prostitution. But practically, the investigation started just after the opening of the club while the place was still empty. Local people think that if such investigation was to take place regularly, the gay community could discontinue visiting the club. The police did not disclose the result of their investigation, but the police arrested two clients after one had a dispute with the Prefect who was preventing them to enter the club.”