Gay club named Kremlin refuses to ditch name amid war in Ukraine

The Kremlin nightclub in Belfast, Northern Ireland has said it has no plans to change its name anytime soon.

The decades-old bar, on Donegall Road, is one of the country’s largest LGBT+ nightclubs, promising partygoers a “sexy and Soviet night out“.

It’s pretty dedicated to the theme: there’s a “red square” dance area, a Tsar cocktail lounge and both a mural and a life-size statue of Vladimir Lenin, who orchestrated the coup that created the Soviet Union.

Since Russia declared war on Ukraine, governments, gas companies, tech firms and banks are scrambling to sever themselves from Moscow.

Kremlin’s managers, however, aren’t rebranding anytime soon for one simple reason – to give Russia’s aggressively anti-LGBT+ president Vladimir Putin the “middle finger”.

Russian-themed LGBT+ nightclub Kremlin keeps name as a ‘political stance’.

The Kremlin, the club’s manager told the Belfast Telegraph, has “always been Kremlin, a massive gay club that has always supported the LGBTQ community”.

“If anything this is a big middle finger to Putin.”

The Kremlin, which also holds a club night called “Revolution” as well as “Industry Sundays”, stood in solidarity with Ukrainians last month.