Brutal raid on woman's birthday party highlights rise of Russian vigilante group

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Brutal raid on woman's birthday party highlights rise of Russian vigilante group1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleChristopher GilesandJulia Luft , EyeBBCKatya says she now lives in fear after her criminal sentence Warning: Offensive languageKatya was about to blow out the candles on her 30th birthday cake when masked men burst into the nightclub hired for her party, and began physically and verbally attacking her friends. "They called us faggots and lesbians. I could hear violence from every corner," she told a World Service investigation.

Her mother was told to get down on all fours, she says. The swoop was instigated by a vigilante group, called Russkaya Obshina, that wants to accelerate President Vladimir Putin's agenda to stamp out what he describes as Western liberalism, and promote traditional family-oriented values. As is sometimes the case in these raids, members of the police joined them.

The Details

Russkaya Obshina stated in a subsequent video it shared on social media that it was looking for evidence of LGBT "propaganda", which is illegal in Russia. Nothing of this nature was found, but Katya was nevertheless interrogated by law enforcement. Nine months later she was convicted for blasphemy because there had been a red neon crucifix-shaped light hanging on the wall of the nightclub.

Law enforcement (pictured holding a guest on the floor) joined the raid on Katya's partyRusskaya Obshina is the biggest of a network of nationalist groups in Russia, and the number of raids it has carried out has rapidly increased in the past two years, our investigation found. We have also found evidence suggesting it has received funding from charities run by figures close to the Kremlin. Katya, well-known in her home city of Arkhangelsk for hosting parties for an alternative crowd, says during her interrogation a law enforcement officer told her she did not conform with traditional values and there was "something wrong with her".

She was sentenced to 200 hours of community service. One witness, a member of Russkaya Obshina, told the court "the sight of the cross being displayed at the party caused him emotional shock and deep confusion". Katya says she now lives in fear because coverage of her case in the local media, and on Russkaya Obshina's social channels, has led to widespread online harassment.

What Experts Say

Nevertheless, she felt it important to share her story with the . Over the past year, the World Service has spoken to half a dozen current and former members of Russkaya Obshina, as well as those, like Katya, who have been impacted by its actions. The picture that has emerged is of a movement of highly-motivated nationalist and religious Russians dedicated to patrolling towns and cities, and raiding shops, warehouses, hostels, nightclubs and abortion clinics, looking for any activity they feel violates their traditional values and potentially breaks the law.

They then lobby for the prosecution of their targets.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.