Four Protocols on LGBT and Childfree "Propaganda" Filed Against Openly Gay Journalist Karen Shainyan in Moscow

Four administrative cases against journalist and psychotherapist Karen Shainyan have been registered on the website of Moscow magistrates’ courts. The protocols were drawn up under the article on the “propaganda” of non-traditional sexual relations, gender reassignment, and voluntary refusal to have children among minors (Part 4, Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation).

According to the portal Parni+ , the initiators of the protocols and the specific episodes that led to the charges are currently unknown. The date of the court hearing has not yet been set.

The cases will be considered by Judge Alexandra Mikhaleva of Judicial District No. 374. Previously, she has issued fines under a similar article against a number of journalists and activists, including Sasha Kazantseva, Yan Dvorkin, Renat Davletgildeev, Katerina Gordeeva, Evgeny Pisemsky, Yaroslav Rasputin, and Olga Baranova, as well as representatives of online cinemas.

Until now, Karen Shainyan had not been prosecuted under the article on LGBT “propaganda.” In April 2022, the Russian Ministry of Justice added him to the register of “foreign agents” (a discriminatory label used by the Russian government against critics and independent media). In September 2025, a court sentenced the journalist in absentia to five years in prison on charges of “extremist” activity due to his financial support of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).