Russia Bans Elton John’s ‘Undesirable’ AIDS Foundation

The Russian General Prosecutor’s Office has announced a nationwide ban of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, accusing the organization of opposing the country’s “traditional spiritual and moral values.”

The office made the announcement today, specifying that the ban applied to two foundations registered separately in the United States and Britain under the same name. Both have been deemed “undesirable organizations.”

“When a musician plays along with the promoters of democracy, you get propaganda,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on its official Telegram channel (via Reuters). “And if Elton John is at the piano, it is not just anti-Russian propaganda.”

The statement continued: “The NGOs (non-governmental organisations) actively participate in an information campaign orchestrated by the ‘collective West’ to discredit traditional values and escalate social tensions.”

READ MORE: 42 Loud and Proud LGBTQ Anthems

Elton John’s Long History of Vocal LGBTQ+ Activism

Since 1992, the Elton John Aids Foundation has raised more than $600 million across 95 countries “to increase access to health care, tackle LGBTQ+ stigma and end AIDS,” according to the mission statement on its website.

Although the foundation is focused primarily on AIDS prevention and control, the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office took particular issue with its LGBTQ+ advocacy. In a separate statement on its website, it decried the foundation for promoting “non-traditional sexual relationships, Western family models, and gender reassignment.” It also suggested, without examples, that John’s foundation was part of a Western campaign to “denigrate Russia” over its war in Ukraine.

Russia’s anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment has been well documented. In 2023, the Russian Supreme Court banned the so-called “international LGBT movement,” deeming it an “extremist organization.”

The Elton John Foundation has not yet commented publicly on its Russian ban. But John has long been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and in 2023 he criticized U.S. lawmakers for reversing LGBTQ+ progress in America.

“We seem to be going backwards,” John told the Radio Times. “And that spreads. It’s like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering.”