Rammstein members defy Russia's anti-LGBTQ policies with onstage kiss

Rammstein guitarists Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe are taking a stand in defiance against Russia’s anti-LGBTQ stance by kissing one another onstage.

The band later took to Instagram to share a photo of the kiss after the show.

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This isn’t the first time the two members have kissed during a performance on the band’s current European tour. Some fans have even begun referring to the duo as ‘Paulchard.’

 After the gig in Moscow, the band took to Twitter to share a photo of the kiss with the caption, “Russia, we love you!”

 

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Россия, мы любим тебя! Photos: @jenskochphoto

A post shared by Rammstein (@rammsteinofficial) on

While in Poland, the band’s vocalist Till Lindemann crowdsurfed in a rubber dinghy while waving a Pride flag after news about violence during a Pride parade.

Rammstein released their seventh studio album earlier this year, a followup to their 2009 album Liebe ist für alle da.

“I think it’s going to be an album that has a certain kind of potential that Rammstein hasn’t achieved yet,” Kruspe says. “For me, one of the reasons to step back into making records with Rammstein was to balance the popularity of the band as a live act with the actual music. With Rammstein, people tend to talk about the fire and all the live stuff. I thought, ‘I don’t want to be another KISS,’ where people talk about makeup and stuff like that and no one talks about the music.”

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