A court in Orenburg sentenced bar owner Vyacheslav Khasanov, 37, to seven years in prison, while manager Diana Kamilyanova, 30, received six years and three months and art director Alexander Klimov, 23, was sentenced to two years and three months.

The three were convicted of organising “events united by the theme of demonstrating solidarity with people of non-traditional sexual orientation”, Russian legal terminology for LGBT people.

The case followed a raid on the Pose bar in March 2024 by armed police and a local ultra-conservative group. Authorities accused the venue of LGBT “extremism”.

The defendants, who all denied the charges, were also banned from working in entertainment or hospitality for up to three years after their release. Khasanov had one million rubles (£10,000) in revenue seized.

Russia’s Supreme Court designated the “LGBT movement” as extremist in 2023, placing it in the same legal category as terrorist organisations, as part of the Kremlin’s campaign to promote “traditional values”.

The proceedings were held behind closed doors. The verdict can be appealed and has not yet taken effect.

Pose opened in 2021 and described itself as the city’s first themed venue. Its owner later opened a sister venue in Bashkortostan, which operated as a drag show venue but was described as a “bar-theatre of parodies”.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, LGBT venues and symbols have increasingly faced prosecution in Russia. Clubs have been raided, owners arrested and people fined or jailed for displaying rainbow symbols.

The crackdown has formed part of a wider campaign by President Vladimir Putin’s government against groups and individuals accused of challenging conservative social values.