One of Russia's most popular LGBT news sites has been blocked without warning, its administrators have announced.
A court in the remote Siberian town of Parabel ruled to block BlueSystem.ru, banning the site throughout Russia.
The reason for the ban has not been published on the court's website, and site administrators say that they have not received any explanation for the decision.
BlueSystem.ru received no warning that the case was taking place, and were unable to defend themselves in court, the website's team wrote on their Vkontakte social media page.
The site is visited by 100,000 people a day, according to BlueSystem.ru's administrators. They describe the site as the biggest gay news portal on the Russian Internet.
“The Kremlin is afraid of gays,” the website's team wrote on their Vkontakte social media page. “On the eve of the State Duma elections, the Kremlin mobilized its repressive machine and blocked the most popular Runet gay site.”
Activists have reported an ongoing crackdown on LGBT rights across Russia, including 2013's infamous “gay propaganda law.” ILGA-Europe — the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association — ranks Russia in 48th place out of 49 European countries for their promotion of LGBT rights.
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