by Reuters

Inside this apartment building in Moscow, Russian prosecutors covered their faces after a raid on the country's leading gay activist.

Nikolai Alexeyev allowed journalists inside his apartment after the raid. He says prosecutors went through his bedroom, closets, even the bathroom and took away certain electronic equipment.

SOUNDBITE (Russian): RUSSIAN GAY ACTIVIST NIKOLAI ALEXEYEV, SAYING:

"You can look here, in the bathroom, there are broken tiles in the bathroom, in the other room where my mother lives everything has been thrown out, the balcony has been dug up. Everything has been totally dug up."

This is what the balcony looked like after the raid.

SOUNDBITE (Russian): RUSSIAN GAY ACTIVIST NIKOLAI ALEXEYEV, SAYING:

"Do you think that this is all legal? What if they now start raiding flats every day for instance, storm the apartment, throw everything out, dig everything up? And who will now clean all this?"

Russian officials confirm the raid was part of an investigation into a complaint made by a member of Parliament who is against gay rights.

In June, Parliament passed a law prohibiting the spread of what the government is calling gay propoganda.