(Berlin, May 28, 2026) – Russian authorities have banned nine groups that provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as “extremist,” Human Rights Watch said today. The apparent aim is to further suppress, stigmatize, and criminalize those who document abuses, share information, and provide legal, medical, and other assistance to Russia’s LGBT population. Following the 2023 Russian Supreme Court  decision to outlaw as “extremist” the “International LGBT Movement”—a legal and factual mischaracterization of a diverse, decentralized global human rights cause—the authorities have targeted numerous civil society organizations. Between  March and May 2026, courts banned nine LGBT groups in seven Russian regions as “extremist,” namely  Coming Out ,  LGBT Resource Centre ,  Parni Plus ,  Moscow Community Center for LGBT+ Initiatives ,  Irida ,  Russian LGBT Network ,  Kallisto movement ,  T9 NSK , and  Centre T .…