Content warning: This story may include topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable. Performers at the Dobrynin Palace of Culture in Yaroslavl were celebrating the 20th anniversary of a local pub named Paratroopers.
During their show, the Russian military club, who were all dressed in uniform, lifted another cadet who had a fake block of cement on his stomach.
The block had writing on it which called for the death of gay people and featured homophobic slurs. Using a sledgehammer, one of the cast began striking the block to mimic an execution.
Taras Sidorin, head of the Yaroslavl branch of the veterans’ group Defender, said: “I was not at the performance itself, but I saw these photos on social networks. “We view these attacks as