German industrial vets Rammstein are supporting their new self-titled album on tour now, and at their show in Moscow on Monday (7/29), they protested Russia’s anti-LGBTQ laws by having guitarists Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe kiss on stage during their set. As Metal Hammer points out, the band was violating Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, which was passed in 2003 by Vladimir Putin. The law’s stated aim is to prevent children from being exposed to homosexuality by making it illegal to present any homosexual act as “normal.” Foreigners can be arrested and detained for up to 15 days, or fined up to 5,000 rubles, then deported. No word yet if Rammstein have faced any consequences.
Rammstein later posted the above photo of the kiss to Instagram, and captioned it in Russian: “Russia, we love you!”