The chairman of the Russian LGBT Network and an independent attorney faced a judge in a hearing under St Petersburg’s new anti-gay censorship law today (16 April).

However, papers related to the charge of the promotion and propaganda of homosexuality were found to be missing.

The judge has postponed the hearing until next Monday (23 April).

Attorney Sergey Kondrashov and Igor Kochetkov, chairman of the Russian LGBT Network, are charged with the promotion and propaganda of homosexuality as well as disobeying a police officer.

The two gay activists arrested in St Petersburg on Thursday (5 April) have been released by a court.

They were the first two people arrested in the Russian city under its new legislation which bans ‘the promotion of homosexuality to minors’ and had faced fines of 5,000 roubles ($172 €125) each and 15 days imprisonment if found guilty.

An anti-gay 'propaganda' bill, similar to the one passed in St Petersburg, has been submitted to the Russian parliament.

The proposed law calls for fines of up to 500,000 rubles ($16,500 €12,400) for 'spreading homosexual propaganda' among minors.

Lawmakers from the Novosibirsk region submitted the legislation to the State Duma today (29 March) and is similar to the law passed in St Petersburg earlier this month.

A judge in Russia has backed the ban imposed by the authorities on organising a ‘gay Pride House’ for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Plans for the Pride House were formulated by Russian gay activists following the 2010 Games in Vancouver, which featured a very successful Pride House.

But the dreams of repeating the success of Vancouver were scuppered last year when the Russian Ministry of Justice refused the registration of the NGO set-up to organize Pride House.

Russia’s most famous gay activist traveled to the city of Kostroma today (12 March) to challenge the region’s ban on ‘promoting’ homosexuality to minors.

The homophobic Kostroma law was introduced at the end of the last month and its introduction was overshadowed by the passing of a similar law in St Petersburg, which attracted global criticism and protests.

Five activists protesting a bill that would criminalise the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ in St Petersburg were arrested today as the Legislative Assembly gave the measure its second reading.

The five were protesting in front of the assembly building. They were charged with demonstrating illegally and resisting the police, according to Just Out, the St Petersburg LGBT group.

A court in Arkhangelsk has fined three Russian gay activists for ‘the promotion of homosexuality’ following pickets in the city last month protesting against that same new law.

The legislation banning 'Propaganda of Homosexuality to Minors' was passed by the regional parliament at the end of last year. Russian activists say it is not actually about protecting children but about silencing lesbian, gay and bisexual rights demands.

A small group of LGBT Russians have taken their protest against laws intended to silence their movement to every region - and last night they produced images of their protesting arrest in front of the Kremlin.

Their protest, signaled on social media to happen in another Moscow location, in fact occurred in front of the most famous location in all of Russia. Within seconds they were swarmed by police.

Three Russian gay activists were arrested today in the northern city of  Arkhangelsk.

Nikolay Alekseev, Alexey Kiselev and Kirill Nepomnyaschiy were arrested under the 'homosexual propoganda' law while conducting 'solitary' pickets next to a children's library.

The trio have now been charged and bailed.