Russia bans Elton John AIDS Foundation

4/4/2025 5:51

Russia's general prosecutor

on Thursday banned the activities of the Elton John AIDS

Foundation, accusing it of taking a negative stance towards

countries like Russia that protect "traditional spiritual and

moral values".



The prosecutor's office said the ban applied specifically to

two non-governmental organisations, one registered in the United

States and the other in Britain and both called the Elton John

AIDS Foundation. It officially designated them as "undesirable

organisations."



The foundation was set up by Elton John, the gay British

singer and songwriter who in the past has given sell-out

concerts in Russia and spoken out against what he has said is

unacceptable discrimination against gay people by the Russian

authorities.



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.



The Elton John AIDS Foundation said it was "devastated" by

the decision, which it said would prevent it from providing

lifesaving care to people living with HIV in Russia.



"For more than two decades, we have worked in

collaboration with federal and non-governmental partners in

Russia to provide hundreds of thousands of people with vital HIV

services, including testing, treatment, and care," it said in a

statement.



"This work is urgent: in 2024, there were over 1.2

million people living with HIV in Russia, with over 430,000 not

receiving treatment. Today’s decision...will undoubtedly

endanger lives and disrupt critical HIV prevention efforts."



The prosecutor's office cast the foundation as a malign

influence on Russian society on its official Telegram channel.



"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," it said.



"The NGOs actively participate in an information campaign

orchestrated by the 'collective West' to discredit traditional

values and escalate social tensions," it added.



In a separate statement on its website, the prosecutor's

office complained about the foundation's promotion of

"non-traditional sexual relationships, Western family models,

and gender reassignment".



Without citing examples, the statement accused the

foundation of taking part in what it called a Western campaign

to "denigrate Russia" over its war in Ukraine, which the

prosecutor called a "special military operation".



Putin has encouraged women to have at least three children

to battle a birth rate dip in the country, and a 2022 law

widened a ban on "LGBT propaganda" to effectively ban any public

expressions regarding homosexuality.



In November, Russia's lower house of parliament voted

unanimously to ban what authorities cast as pernicious

propaganda for a child-free way of life.



In a mission statement on its website, the Elton John AIDS

Foundation said it had raised more than $600 million to support

over 3,100 projects in 95 countries globally to increase access

to health care, tackle LGBTQ+ stigma, and end AIDS.