The TV channel was fined 1 million for the clip for the song from “Brother-2”

The music TV channel “Lya-minor TV” was fined 1 million rubles by the Russian court for showing the clip for the song “City” by the group “Tantsy Minus”. The court deemed the clip “LGBT propaganda” because of the nine-second fragment with a kiss between two girls, “Vyorstka” reports.

The Tagansky District Court of Moscow made a decision on the fine in December of last year, it became known about it only today.

The clip was shown on the channel’s daytime broadcast on July 24, 2023. Employees of the Main Radio Frequency Center, a subsidiary of Roskomnadzor, analyzed the clip and interpreted the fragment with the kiss as a “scene of non-verbal interaction between two persons of the same biological sex (female).” The defense of the TV channel stated in court that the clip “does not contain scenes of sexual relations between representatives of the same sex, but promotes love for Russia and its cities – St. Petersburg and Moscow.” According to the lawyer, quoted by “Vyorstka”, “the female heroines who kiss in the clip personify the beauty and allure of a big city, rejoice in white nights, good weather and the main character of the clip – performer Petkun”. The court disagreed with this and recognized the channel as “LGBT propaganda” for minors.

The song “City” and its music video were released more than 20 years ago, in 2000, when there were no laws prohibiting “LGBT propaganda” in Russia. In addition to the girls’ kiss, the video also includes a woman’s kiss with a man. The song is included in the official soundtrack of Alexei Balabanov’s film “Brother-2”, some phrases from which pro-Kremlin figures like to quote.

This is not the first time when courts impose fines under the article on “LGBT propaganda” for the demonstration of old clips.