Police in Moscow reportedly received complaints the My Little Pony event "promoted non-traditional relationships... adult content... and general horror and darkness."
ADVERTISEMENTPolice in Moscow were called to investigate an event in the Russian capital dedicated to the cartoon series ‘My Little Pony’ over alleged LGBTQ+ propaganda, according to organisers.
The event, the Mi Amore convention, was shut down by organisers early on Saturday after officers arrived at the venue. Police were unable to find any evidence of LGBTQ+ propaganda at the event, which is considered an illegal activity in Russia.
“The police received a complaint claiming that our event promoted non-traditional relationships and related symbols, adult content for minors, and general horror and darkness,” event organisers wrote on the Russian social media site VK Sunday. “Two police checks did not uphold these complaints.”
‘My Little Pony’ is a toy line and media franchise developed by company Hasbro centred around ponies with colourful manes. The Moscow event was dedicated to the cartoon series created by the company, which focuses on the power of friendship and is targeted to an audience under the age of 10 - though the convention actually catered to its many adult fans.
The logo of the Moscow convention was a pony with a mane styled in the colours of the Russian flag.
‘My Little Pony’ has prompted anxiety in Russia as the country’s authorities crack down on the local LGBTQ+ community, with Russian movie database Kinopoisk changing the cartoon series’ rating to an adult-only 18+ in December 2023. Not long before that, in November 2023, a Russian court had declared “the global LGBTQ+ movement” to be an extremist organisation.
Since then, at least three people have been arrested and served time in prison for displaying rainbow-coloured items. No global LGBTQ+ movement formally exists.
The court didn’t offer a reason for the change. But the cartoon series has recently made efforts to increase representation of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, the show aired an episode featuring a same-sex couple, Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, which were confirmed to be lesbians by the series’ writers.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has made “traditional family values” a cornerstone of his agenda, leading the clampdown on the LGBTQ+ community in the country.
For those LGBTQ+ people who haven’t been able to flee the country, life has gotten much harder in the past few months. Sophia Agapov, a member of St Petersburg's LGBTQ+ community, told Euronews about feeling “very insecure and isolated.”
“Literally every single step can lead to prosecution,” she said via text in December 2023. “It's like a second corona lockdown. It is better to stay home.
