By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-04-03 19:14:49 | Updated at 2025-04-04 19:15:38
1 day ago
Russia’s General Prosecutor on Thursday banned the activities of the Elton John Aids Foundation, accusing it of taking a negative stance towards countries such as Russia that protect “traditional spiritual and moral values”.
The prosecutor’s office said its ban specifically applied to two non-governmental organisations, one registered in the United States and the other in Britain, both of them called the “Elton John Aids Foundation”. Both are officially designated as “undesirable organisations”, it said.
Being classified as an undesirable organisation in Russia is equivalent to a ban.
The Aids foundation was set up by the gay British singer and songwriter who in the past has given sell-out concerts in Russia and has spoken out against what he has said is unacceptable discrimination against LGBTQ people by the Russian authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected such assertions. He has cast Russia as a bastion of “traditional values” locked in an existential struggle with a decadent West.
“When a musician plays along with the promoters of democracy, you get propaganda. And if Elton John is at the piano, it is not just anti-Russian propaganda,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on its official Telegram channel.
“The NGOs [non-governmental organisations] actively participate in an information campaign orchestrated by the ‘collective West’ to discredit traditional values and escalate social tensions,” it added.
