Ikea removes story about lesbian couple from store's Russian magazine Article about British couple spiked in Russia after concerns about new law Gay rights campaigners have branded Ikea 'cowardly' for the move Russian law bans anything which could promote homosexuality to minors Swedish furniture retailer IKEA says it has spiked an article about a lesbian couple in the Russian edition of its customer magazine because that would have broken the country's new law on gay propaganda. The story, which features British lesbian couple Clara and Kirsty, appeared in the December print edition of the firm's club magazine. In the feature the couple talk about their life in Dorset, and raising their children. IKEA has spiked a story about British lesbian couple Clara and Kirsty from the Russian version of its customer magazine But IKEA spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson confirmed that the family-focused feature had been removed from the Russian edition of the magazine. She said that Russian law has 'restrictions regarding promoting homosexual relationships' which led to the decision to replace the article. Ms Magnusson told the Aftonbladet newspaper: 'That's the reason why Russia has another article IKEA previously angered traditionalists in Italy when it featured two gay men on a billboard advertisement We have two guiding principles in the communication we distribute from Ikea. The first is home interior design. The second is following the law. She said that the decision was taken in an effort to 'remain neutral' and said: 'We think our operations in Russia can, in the long run have a positive effect on society.' The IKEA Live magazine is distributed across Europe to customers enrolled in the firm's IKEA Family loyalty scheme. But gay rights activists in IKEA's founding country Sweden have branded the company 'cowardly' for removing the article. Swedish gay rights campaigners have said that the article could have been used as a test case to see what the Russian law's mention of 'propaganda' actually means Ulrika Westerlund, chair of the Swedish Federation for lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL) told The Local: 'I find it disappointing that Ikea has simply laid down flat. 'No one is really sure what 'propaganda' is and if Ikea had left the article in, that could have served as a test case.' In June Russian president Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill which bans 'propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors.' There are fears in the country that this law will outlaw any expression of gay rights including holding hands or kissing in public. Last year, Ikea also came under criticism for airbrushing women out of the version of its catalogue published in Saudi Arabia.