May 9 (Reuters) - Two Russian online film distributors,

including a company owned by Nasdaq-listed internet giant Yandex ( YNDX )

, have been charged with offences under the country's

so-called "LGBT propaganda" law, a notice on a Moscow court's

website said.

Russia last year expanded its restrictions on the promotion

of what it calls LGBT propaganda amid a broader clampdown on

LGBT rights, which President Vladimir Putin has sought to

portray as evidence of moral decay in Western countries.

The companies, Kinopoisk and Restream Media, face an

administrative case for the "propaganda of non-traditional

sexual relationships" or "gender reassignment" online, according

to the notice posted on Wednesday.

Separate charges were filed on Wednesday against two

Kinopoisk and Restream Media executives for the same offence, an

online court notice showed.

Yandex ( YNDX )-owned Kinopoisk and Restream Media, majority-owned by

digital services giant Rostelecom, have both been

fined repeatedly under a similar article banning the

"demonstration" of LGBT relationships to minors.

That resulted from them listing films such as "Bridget

Jones's Diary" and "Perfect Strangers" without an 18+ label.

A spokesperson for Kinopoisk told Reuters that the charge

was related to its listing of the U.S. television series

"Supergirl", which features a same-sex relationship, and that

the company planned to challenge the court ruling.

"The laws and regulations as currently drafted do not

provide sufficient objective criteria for determining propaganda

of non-traditional relationships," the company said in a

statement provided to Reuters.

"We hope that the current practice of fines against online

cinemas will be revised to warnings."

Restream Media did not immediately reply to an emailed

request for comment.