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- The two women exchanged rings and later kissed each other in the video taken at a restaurant in the southern city of Krasnodar.
- The Krasnodar region's court said the video was "scandalous" and fined both for promoting "non-traditional sexual relations".
- Russia banned what it deemed "LGBT propaganda" more than 10 years ago.
Two women who were filmed kissing each other at a restaurant in Russia have been fined more than R10 000 each for promoting "non-traditional relationships", a Russian court said on Tuesday.
The pair, aged 24 and 19, exchanged rings and later kissed each other in the video, which appeared to show a mock wedding proposal at a restaurant in the southern city of Krasnodar.
Russia banned so-called "LGBT propaganda" over a decade ago and has progressively toughened its laws to outlaw any representation of what its authorities call "non-traditional" relationships in public or in the media.
"In February 2024, the girls posted a video clip with indecent behaviour in a public place... The police established their identity," Krasnodar region's court service said.
The court said the video was "scandalous" and that both had been charged with promoting "non-traditional sexual relations".
"The court decided to find them both guilty of committing an administrative offence and imposed a penalty in the form of an administrative fine of 50 000 rubles [R10 125] each," it added.
The amount is slightly under the region's average monthly wage.
Footage obtained by the state RIA news agency showed the two later issuing grovelling apologies at a police station.
"I apologise to those who think that we are naturally pro-LGBT. We are against this topic. We all know what laws we have and we didn't expect this to happen," one of the women said, her face blurred.
When asked by a figure off camera why they recorded the video, she said it was "hype" for their subscribers on social media.
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The Kremlin has further ramped up conservative rhetoric since launching its military assault on Ukraine, casting the conflict as a battle against the West and its values.
Russia's top court labelled the "international LGBT movement" as extremist in November, making anyone who engages in pro-LGBTQ activism or shares LGBTQ symbols liable to prosecution.
