The Sabbath party in Tomsk, Russia, 8 November 2025. Photo: Baza
Russian security forces detained seven people after raiding a costume party in the city of Tomsk, in Siberia, Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported on Saturday.
News channel Baza said the popular annual Sabbath party had a circus theme this year, with guests appearing in clown costumes, and female acrobats performing on the dance floor. The party had been going for several hours before riot police officers arrived and put an abrupt end to proceedings. Police spent over two hours searching attendees and checked 17 rooms on the premises before allowing people to leave, Baza said.
Eyewitnesses said that the police forbade filming and demanded any footage already taken be deleted, according to Ostorozhno Novosti. The police came after receiving an anonymous tip-off about LGBT propaganda, Baza said.
Last month, Moscow police raided a self-styled “kissing party” at a nightclub in the eastern part of the Russian capital early in yet another instance of the authorities cracking down on what they deem to be “non-traditional” events. The city’s once world-famous nightlife scene has changed dramatically in recent years amid an increase in raids on “non-traditional venues” and the growing persecution of queer people since Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed the “international LGBT movement” in 2023.
Armed police have been known to terrify revellers, forcing them to lie face down on the floor, sometimes for hours at atime, even beating and humiliating party-goers while checking their documents and phones.
