Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Ilya Zhuravlyov, the director of two medical centers in the Ulyanovsk region, of promoting Satanism as part of a broader campaign to spread LGBT propaganda.
Zhuravlyov, who was arrested in August, is now facing up to six years in prison, the FSB said on October 7, claiming he encouraged his subordinates to embrace same-sex relationships as a form of initiation into devil worship, adding a sensational new layer to Russia's growing crackdown on the LGBT community.
According to the FSB, Zhuravlyov misled people by promising them financial success and career advancement if they adhered to the Satanist cult he promoted.
The accusations, aired in a statement on YouTube, have been seized upon by state-aligned media and are being used to further pressure LGBT figures in regional authorities.
Zhuravlyov's arrest is part of a wider crackdown on LGBT rights in Russia, as President Vladimir Putin continues to push an agenda centered around "traditional values." Over the past decade, Putin, backed by the Russian Orthodox Church, has positioned himself as a defender of conservative social norms.
This has included a relentless assault on LGBT rights, including the banning of gender-reassignment surgeries and the nullification of marriages involving transgender individuals.
In 2022, Putin signed a decree formalizing Russia's commitment to "spiritual-moral values" amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The decree stressed the importance of "strong families" and "service to the fatherland," while denouncing what the Kremlin sees as the corrosive influence of Western liberalism, including the promotion of LGBT rights.
SEE ALSO: Russia Wants To Ban Adoption By Countries Allowing Gender TransitionLast year, the Supreme Court also moved to ban the "International Public LGBT Movement," a largely symbolic organization that was used to justify further crackdowns on LGBT advocacy.
These legal moves are part of a broader strategy to brand LGBT identities as foreign, anti-family, and even extremist, in a bid to galvanize conservative support.
The accusations of Satanism against Zhuravlyov, however, mark a dramatic escalation. By linking LGBT advocacy to Satanism, the state appears to be pushing a narrative designed to inflame public fears and further stigmatize the LGBT community.
This fits into a larger pattern of demonizing anything perceived as foreign or contrary to the state's strict moral order.
Russia's crackdown on LGBT rights is not an isolated event but part of a broader cultural war that positions Russia in opposition to Western liberal values.
SEE ALSO: The Big Chill: Critics Say Kremlin Waging A War On IdeasSince the passage of the 2013 "gay propaganda" law, which criminalized the promotion of LGBT relationships among minors, the Russian government has steadily expanded its efforts to marginalize and silence LGBT voices.
The state has framed these laws as necessary for protecting Russia from the corrupting influence of Western ideologies.
Local media and FSB-affiliated outlets such as the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel have suggested Zhuravlyov's arrest is being used as a tool to further pressure LGBT figures within local government and law enforcement.