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Authorities reportedly used his phone to entrap and harass other men who were looking to have sex with toher men.
A blogger in Moscow, who creates gay adult content, who disappeared while on vacation was reportedly taken into custody by officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and forced to act as bait to entrap, film, and arrest gay men, while also denied medication to treat his HIV diagnosis.
Matvey Volodin, better known for performing same-sex sex acts online under the pseudonym USSRboy, disappeared late last month, according to the Guys PLUS project, Crisis group SK SOS, and reported by Mediazona.
Volodin reportedly left his home on May 23 for a vacation where he also intended to create new content.
The following day, however, an unsympathetic user on X, formerly known as Twitter, reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had discovered Volodin in a “gay den” during a sexual tryst with other gay men. The men were handcuffed and Volodin was arrested on charges of drug possession.
The user accused Volodin of being a drug dealer who bribed his captors to gain release. The user also said police beat Volodin, but that such abuse is common in Russia.
“A cop in Russia is not a man’s friend, much less for a gay man,” the user posted.
However, others more sympathetic to Volodin provide a somewhat different version of events.
Volodin’s lawyer, Patimat Nuradinova, told Mediazona her client believed he was visiting online friends in Dagestan. Instead, she said he was arrested and beaten by police who seized his phone and forced him to act as bait to entrap gay men.
Activist Vladimir Chugrov confirmed to Guys PLUS that Volodin was lured to the location to have sex with other men, only to be greeted by state authorities instead. He also revealed that Volodin was supposed to have been released, but was immediately kidnapped by two undercover police officers and that his current location is unknown.
Chugrov said the blogger is living with advanced HIV and in urgent need of his medication.
“Regardless of the offenses, every citizen of Russia has the right to preserve his health,” Chugrov said. “Without access to therapy, people with HIV are at mortal risk, and putting them in such danger is not justified.”
Guys PLUS reported that other bloggers on the USSRboy contact list have received threatening messages since Volodin’s phone was seized.
Volodin identifies as straight, but has same-sex relations with men.
