During a raid, FSB agents apparently forced pub-goers in Moscow to sing patriotic songs.
The reason is a pro-Ukrainian social media post.
Moscow – Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Russian authorities have taken on opposition politicians, journalists and activists.
Two bar raids in Moscow followed on Friday (March 17).
The reason is the support of Ukrainian charities.
During the raid, visitors were threatened with electric batons and forced to sing patriotic songs.
But they don't want to get down, reports the
Moscow Times
.
Raid on Moscow pubs: Visitors had to sing pro-Russian songs
On Friday, masked FSB agents raided Moscow's Underdog and La Virgen Taqueria pubs.
Around 50 people were taken into custody and questioned by the Russian secret service – including guests and employees.
Konstantin Yerokhin, lawyer for the "Underdog" owners, told The
Moscow Times
that hooded police officers forced visitors to unlock their phones and show their tattoos.
They were threatened with electric batons.
Initial reports of the raid indicated that bar patrons were being coerced into pro-Russian activities, such as singing patriotic songs, by FSB agents.
This is now shown in a video: a small group of guests sings along while secret service agents in balaclavas watch over them.
The video was published
by the
Moskva News Agency.
Other services such as
Meduza
reported visitors were forced to write the war symbol "Z" on the door.
According to the
Moscow Times,
the sign only appeared during the weekend.
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There were raids on bars in Moscow (symbol image).
© Imago images/Valery Sharifulin
FSB secret service: The reason for the raid is a social media post from a fundraiser
The reason for the raid is the suspicion of financial support from Ukraine.
In a previously deleted social media post, La Virgin Taqueria announced a record sale last summer to raise money for the Kyiv Angels.
The charity supports civilians and the military of Ukraine.
The bar issued a statement back in July that the post came from hackers.
It is unclear why the Russian secret service waited so long to carry out the raid.
On Tuesday, Pavel Kosov, one of the pub owners, shared on Instagram that he never collected any money and sent it to the Ukrainian military.
Nevertheless, he wanted to retire from the business to protect his staff.
"We don't want our bars to be associated with illegal actions against our country or with fascist views," the underdog account added on Tuesday (March 21).
Nevertheless, the two bars are still targets of Russian nationalists.
"I too receive numerous threats, including threats against my mother," lawyer Yerokhin told the
Moscow Times
.
Check out this post on Instagram
A post shared by UNDERDOG (@underdog_moscow)
However, the pub-goers don't let the raid get them down.
"I think we have to show our support," a guest told the news portal.
They were not afraid of further raids.
Pub raids: Restaurant owners can expect more raids
The raid by the Russian secret service is apparently one of many actions taken by Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin to maintain control.
On Wednesday, among other things, around 20 pubs in Sankt.
Petersburg has been closed.
According to the
Fontanka
news portal, the reason for this was “antisocial activities”.
The pressure from the Russian government will continue to increase in the future - what has happened to journalists so far will also extend to restaurant owners.
(hk)
List of rubrics: © Imago images/Valery Sharifulin