Police officers conduct searches at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow. This is reported by "Caution News".
The security forces came to the archive building of the museum in Gorky Park, as well as to the Narkomfin building on Novinsky Boulevard - where Garage employees conduct architectural tours.
“Caution, news” writes that the museum’s chiefs and curators are not released until the end of the investigative actions, and they are prohibited from using mobile phones.
The exact reason for the searches is not yet known; Some museum employees believe that security forces are interested in LGBTQ literature stored in the Garage archive.
15:22 Garage employees told Podem that the information about the searches was not true. “We’re doing well,” one added. The press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also told reporters that they were not aware of the search.
At the same time, some employees also spoke about investigative actions earlier. It is not yet known how this information is combined.
15:46 “Caution, news” publishes a video filmed near the Garage office. In it, several masked security forces emerge from the building, which, according to some employees, is not being searched.
Mediazona and Novaya Gazeta Europe also reported on the searches, citing anonymous sources. Mediazona's source clarifies that the security forces did not come to the main building of the museum, but to the office where the documentation is stored. RBC, citing law enforcement officers, adds that the search is being carried out by FSB officers.
19:40 Security forces completed searches in the archives of the Garage museum and left the building. The journalists were previously pushed away from the building, so they did not see what was being taken out of the archive. This is reported by "Caution News".
According to the project, security forces were looking for the director of Garage, Anton Belov, but he was not there during the investigative actions. The police also did not find “a significant part of the employees” of the museum, whom they wanted to interview. Law enforcement officers communicated with management and accountants.
“Caution, News” published a video showing one of the employees leaving the Garage building, accompanied by a security officer with a machine gun.
According to Mediazona, the security forces checked the documents of the exhibition department and the marketing department. “They took everyone away quite harshly, they did not allow us to take personal belongings, but at the same time they did not twist us, without hitting us, and so on. But everything was quite tough. And then people in civilian clothes came and did not introduce themselves,” the publication’s interlocutor said.
Also, people in plain clothes were interested in the names of some people and asked questions about the head of the legal department, who is on vacation. The security forces were “looking for someone” from the department of marketing and exhibition projects, although exhibitions at the museum have not been held since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The employees were kept in the office until one o'clock in the afternoon. When they were released, the security forces did not allow them to take laptops, invoices and various contracts with them. After this, several museum workers still remained in the office.
The Garage administration denies that searches were carried out. According to Mediazona, museum employees were asked not to tell journalists about what was happening.
On April 27, a search in the Garage took place in the case of Pyotr Verzilov on treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code), Artguide reported , citing the museum’s press service.
- The Garage Museum, located in Gorky Park, was founded in 2008 by entrepreneurs Daria Zhukova and Roman Abramovich. In addition to the main exhibition, the museum regularly holds thematic exhibitions, and also publishes books, conducts courses and lectures, and supports young artists.
- The “International LGBT Social Movement” was recognized as an “extremist organization” by the Ministry of Justice on November 30, 2023. According to the Supreme Court, it appeared in the United States, and in Russia it has been in effect since 1984 and is part of “a policy of birth control, among other things, offering the encouragement of non-traditional family relationships.”
- Earlier, on December 5, 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a law that provides for a ban on “LGBTQ propaganda” on the Internet, the media, literature, cinema and advertising. For violations of the law, administrative liability is provided in the form of large fines, and for foreigners and stateless persons - deportation from Russia. Films that showcase queer experiences will not receive distribution certificates. Products (including books) that are perceived to contain such “propaganda” will be prohibited from sale.