Early Saturday morning, police in Moscow raided several bars and arrested the director of a travel agency that caters to LGBTQ+ customers, in what is being described as a growing crackdown on the community. The raids marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s Supreme Court decision to outlaw the “international LGBT movement,” a ruling that has opened the door to heightened persecution of LGBTQ+ people.

State-run news agency TASS reported that at least three bars and nightclubs were raided overnight as part of efforts to combat what authorities label “LGBT propaganda.” Videos circulating on social media showed chaos at the Arma nightclub (formerly Mutabor), with riot police ordering people off the dance floor. Another video captured people being escorted out of the Mono gay club in central Moscow, their hands raised, with a police van waiting outside.

Police also raided a nightclub on Skladochnaya Street, which they claimed had been promoting the banned LGBT ideology. Interfax news agency identified the club as Inferno Night and reported that the venue was also involved in illegal alcohol sales.

In addition to the nightclub raids, the police arrested the 48-year-old director of a travel agency, “Men Travel,” on suspicion of organizing trips for the LGBTQ+ community. He was reportedly planning a New Year’s holiday trip to Egypt for people who support “non-traditional sexual values.”

This crackdown comes amid a broader shift in the Kremlin’s policies, which have become more conservative since the start of the war in Ukraine. The Russian government has framed the conflict as a defense against Western values, and rights groups argue that it has led to unprecedented levels of repression against the LGBTQ+ community, with owners of LGBTQ+ venues being arrested and anyone promoting LGBTQ+ rights facing legal action.