Revealed: Sochi's 'non-existent' gay club, where Champagne sells for $600

THIS is the club that Russian politicians claim does not exist. Sochi's gay club, where Champagne sells for $600.

EXCLUSIVE: This is the club that Russian politicians claim does not exist.

To find the Mayak club, you walk down a narrow alley and press a buzzer beside the brown door of a single-storey building, set back from Sochi's Black Sea promenade.

Inside, it is another world. The Mayak is the biggest of two gay clubs in Sochi, and, thanks to the Olympics, business will be soon booming.

The club's décor is typical gay chic. The tables are laid with gold sequined tablecloths. Dom Perignon 2000 is being poured for 1800 roubles ($600) a bottle and mirror balls swirl above the stage where drag queens perform the famous 1:30am cabaret.

"Everyone is welcome - gays, naturals, lesbians,'' says bartender Nikita Berezutoky. "Tomorrow the Mayor of Vancouver is coming.''

But, according to Russian politicians such as Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov, the Russian riviera doesn't have any gay citizens. "We do not have them in our city," he said recently.

"Everyone here just laughs when we hear that - this is very funny,'' says Mr Berezutoky.

"But we never have any trouble from police - people can walk down the street holding hands, no one cares.''

Mayak bar tender Nikita Berezutoky.

Such claims fly in the face of international gay rights activists who are using the Sochi Olympics to protest against Russian president Vladimir Putin's laws banning gay material being distributed to minors.

Australia's gay snowboarder Belle Brockhoff has jumped on board - and claims she will "rip on Putin's ass" by protesting when she finishes competing.

But staff at the Mayak say she shouldn't get too worked up.

"It's just about having fun - we've been here for eight years now, no problem,'' Mr Berezutoky says.

One of the popular ways of having fun at the Mayak is to have an "Orgasm" or "Sex on the Beach". They're cocktails, of course.

You can also enjoy a "Black Honey" or, as you'd expect in Russia, some "Red Passion".

For the Mayak club, the Olympics rings are made of gold.

"We think business will double, maybe triple - people are coming for a good time from around the world,'' Mr Berezutoky says.