Russian gay adult actor used as bait by authorities denied HIV meds

Russian content creator of gay adult material, known by the pseudonym USSRboy, disappeared during a holiday. Reports indicate he was detained by officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and forced to act as bait to lure other gay men. Additionally, he was denied access to HIV medication.

Matvey Volodin, better known for his online homosexual performances under the pseudonym USSRboy, disappeared under strange circumstances at the end of May, as reported by the Guys PLUS project channel, North Caucasus SOS Crisis Group, and the Mediazona portal. On 23 May, Volodin went on holiday, during which he also intended to create new content.

The next day, a user of the X platform reported that Volodin was detained by the police in a "gay club" during a sexual meeting with other gay men. The men were handcuffed, and Volodin was arrested on charges of drug possession.

Officers seized Volodin's phone and took over his social network accounts. They then used them to invite homosexual men to intimate meetings, which they recorded with a hidden camera. At least five men were caught in the trap.

According to the informant, Volodin was accused of being a drug dealer who bribed the police for release. He also claimed that Volodin was beaten by the police, which is a reprehensible practice common in Russia. USSRboy was released from preliminary detention after a week of forced cooperation, where he spent 10 days of his sentence for "minor hooliganism." His freedom did not last long.

Volodin's lawyer, Patimat Nuradinova, presented an entirely different version of events. According to her, Volodin thought he would meet online friends in Dagestan. Instead, he was detained and beaten by police officers, who confiscated his phone and forced him to act as bait to lure gay men.

Activist Vladimir Chugrov confirmed in a conversation with Guys PLUS that Volodin was lured to the location under the pretence of a sexual meeting. Still, instead of friends, he was detained by state officers. He also revealed that Volodin was released from detention, but men in civilian clothes were waiting outside the building. According to the Crisis Group, these were Centre for Combating Extremism officers.

The Russian was forcibly pushed into a car and kidnapped by two undercover policemen before he could speak with his family and lawyer. Nuradinova tried to record the incident, but one of the officers knocked her phone out of her hand. Volodin's whereabouts are currently unknown.

Chugrov added that the blogger lives with HIV in an advanced stage and urgently needs his medication. Regardless of the charges, every Russian citizen has the right to health protection. Chugrov said that without access to therapy, people with HIV are fatally endangered, and exposing them to such danger is barbaric.

The Guys PLUS portal reported that other men from USSRboy's contact list have received threatening messages since Volodin's phone was confiscated. Among those behind the persecution of Matvey Volodin and other gay men is Dagestani blogger and social activist Hadjimurad Shamilovich, who calls himself a defender of morality.