(Moscow) Russian gay rights activists are denouncing the planned closure of Moscow’s oldest gay club.

Nikolai Alexeyev, the leader of Russia’s gay rights movement, describes the decision as a crude attempt at populism and a violation of human rights.

Alexeyev was joined at Tuesday’s news conference by several Russian musicians, which he said was a historic breakthrough in the struggle for gay rights in Russia.

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has blocked attempts to hold a gay pride march in Moscow and has labeled gays “weapons of mass destruction.”

Alexeyev called on visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to denounce endemic homophobia in Russia.