Courts in Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts issued the first convictions under a new law targeting LGBT activists in Russia, according to the courts’ press services. Russia’s Supreme Court declared “the international LGBT social movement” to be “an extremist organization” on Nov. 30, 2023 and banned all its activities. A court in Volgograd Oblast on Feb. 1 found a defendant known as Artyom P. guilty of “displaying the symbols of an extremist organisation” and ordered him to pay a fine of 1,000 rubles ($11.05). The man had posted a picture of an LBGT flag online. The court claimed that Arty…