In St Petersburg, the Otto Dix concert scheduled for 26 January has been cancelled. The group’s announcement has been highlighted by “Bumaga.”
A representative for Otto Dix noted that the concert was cancelled “for reasons beyond the control of the group and organisers.”
As “Bumaga” points out, shortly before this announcement appeared, the pro-government Telegram channel “Russian Community of St Petersburg” published a call for people to contact the Investigative Committee and prosecutor’s office demanding an inspection of the band.
In December, activists from the “Russian Community” came to the Pravda club in Moscow and demanded the Otto Dix concert be cancelled to “stop Satanism and LGBT propaganda.” At the time, a club representative refused to call off the event. “Challenge accepted. Satanism will not prevail,” the “Russian Community” responded. The same day, Otto Dix cancelled the concert planned for 22 December.
In October, riot police disrupted the group’s concerts in Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod—major cities in central Russia. On 15 December, an Otto Dix concert in St Petersburg was cancelled just a few hours before it was due to begin due to provocations from the “Russian Community.”
Asya Sokolova for OVD-Info
The adoption of the “LGBT propaganda” law marked not only widespread censorship but also intensified repression against LGBTQ people and the organisations that support them. With the designation of the “International LGBT Movement” as an “extremist organisation,” this pressure has increased once again.
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