LGBTQ rights in Russia

LGBTQ rights in Russia
StatusSame-sex sexual activity legal since 1993 for consenting men and not criminalised for women.[1] "Promotion" of LGBT identity illegal since 2013 (homosexuality) and 2022 (trans identity)
PenaltyIn Chechnya: up to death since 2017[note 1]
Gender identityGender change legal between 1997 and 2023, illegal afterwards
MilitaryLGBT people can serve in the army, there are no restrictions.[4]
Discrimination protectionsNone
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsNo recognition of same-sex unions
RestrictionsSame-sex marriage constitutionally banned since 2020[note 2]
AdoptionAllowed to adopt by a single person[note 3]
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Russia face severe legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.[6][7] Although sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex is legal,[1] homosexuality is disapproved of by most of the population and pro-LGBTQ advocacy groups are deemed "extremist" and banned. It is illegal for individuals to "promote homosexuality" and same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Russia provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people and does not have a designation for hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Transgender people are not allowed to change their legal gender and all gender-affirming care is banned. There are currently no laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression, and recent laws could be used to discriminate against transgender residents.

Russia has long held strongly negative views regarding homosexuality, with recent polls indicating that a majority of Russians are against the acceptance of homosexuality and have shown support for laws discriminating against homosexuals. Despite receiving international criticism for the recent increase in social discrimination, crimes, and violence against homosexuals, larger cities such as Moscow[8] and Saint Petersburg[9] have been said[by whom?] to have a thriving LGBTQ community. However, there has been a historic resistance to gay pride parades by local governments; despite being fined by the European Court of Human Rights in 2010 for interpreting it as discrimination, the city of Moscow denied 100 individual requests for permission to hold Moscow Pride through 2012, citing a risk of violence against participants. In 2016, Russia was rated the second least LGBT-friendly nation in Europe by ILGA-Europe.[10] In 2024, the status of LGBTQ rights in Russia was ranked the worst out of the 49 countries surveyed within Europe.[11]

In December 1917, after the October Revolution, the Russian Soviet Republic (later the Russian SFSR) decriminalised homosexuality.[12] However, the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin would later recriminalise sex between men in March 1934 with the addition of Article 154-a to the Soviet criminal code, which punished consensual anal sex between men with three to five years' imprisonment.[13] The revised criminal code of 1961 continued to classify sexual relations between men as a crime, relocating it to Article 121 and providing for only a maximum of five years' imprisonment for consensual sex.[14] Western observers estimated that, during the Soviet era, between 800 and 1000 men were imprisoned per year under Article 121.[15] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, homosexual acts between consenting males were re-legalised in 1993 (they had not been criminalised for women), removing Article 121 from the RSFSR penal code.[1]

Since 2006, under Vladimir Putin, regions in Russia have enacted varying laws restricting the distribution of materials promoting LGBTQ relationships to minors; in June 2013, a federal law criminalizing the distribution of materials among minors in support of non-traditional sexual relationships was enacted as an amendment to an existing child protection law.[16] The law has resulted in the numerous arrests of Russian LGBTQ citizens publicly opposing the law and there has reportedly been a surge of anti-gay protests, violence, and even hate crimes. It has received international criticism from human rights observers, LGBTQ activists, and media outlets and has been viewed as a de facto means of criminalizing LGBTQ culture.[17] The law was ruled to be inconsistent with protection of freedom of expression by the European Court of Human Rights but as of 2021 has not been repealed.[18] In 2022, the law was extended to apply to anyone regardless of age, thus making any expression deemed a promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships illegal.[19][20]

In a report issued on 13 April 2017, a panel of five expert advisors to the United Nations Human Rights Council—Vitit Muntarbhorn, Sètondji Roland Adjovi; Agnès Callamard; Nils Melzer; and David Kaye—condemned the wave of torture and killings of gay men in Chechnya.[21][22]

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the authorities have stepped up reactionary measures, particularly against trans people.[23] On 24 July 2023, President Putin signed into law a bill banning [ru] gender-affirming care in Russia.[24]

On 30 November 2023, the Supreme Court ruled the international LGBTQ movement to be "extremist", outlawing it in the country.[25] The next day, Russian security forces raided bars, male saunas and nightclubs across Moscow.[26][27][28][29][30]

  1. ^ a b c "Russia: Update to RUS13194 of 16 February 1993 on the treatment of homosexuals". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 29 February 2000. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NovayaGazeta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Kramer, Andrew E. (1 April 2017). "Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men, Russian Paper Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Геи, гомосексулисты и армия || Комитет солдатских матерей России".
  5. ^ Kramer, Andrew E. (3 March 2020). "Putin Proposes Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2020. By including an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, "they are reinventing the vote as a referendum for traditional values," said Ekaterina Schulmann, a Moscow-based political scientist.
  6. ^ Noyce, Eleanor (7 December 2023). "Russia declares My Little Pony 18+ in ongoing anti-LGBTQ crackdown". PinkNews. Retrieved 7 December 2023. Russia's crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights has continued unabated for a number of years, with President Vladimir Putin introducing a long line of homophobic legislation.
  7. ^ Baska, Maggie (23 February 2024). "Russian police raid alleged 'anti-war LGBTQ+ party', say state media". PinkNews. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Gay in Putin's Moscow: why the city is pinker than you think". The Guardian. 13 June 2015. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Inside the gay club scene in St Petersburg, Russia". Daily Xtra. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  10. ^ Litvinova, Daria (21 November 2017). "LGBT hate crimes double in Russia after ban on 'gay propaganda'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Rainbow Map". ILGA-Europe. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  12. ^ [Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime. E.H. Carr. 1994]
  13. ^ Engelstein 1995, p. 169.
  14. ^ Criminal Code of the RSFSR (1960), p. 49, Wikidata Q4469075
  15. ^ "Resource Information Center: Russia". USCIS. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  16. ^ Paul Gallagher; Vanessa Thorpe (2 February 2014). "Shocking footage of anti-gay groups". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  17. ^ Elder, Miriam (11 June 2013). "Russia passes law banning gay 'propaganda'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Dismantling LGBT+ rights as a means of control in Russia". Freedom House. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  19. ^ Farrant, Theo (6 December 2022). "From museums to books: How Russia's anti-LGBT laws will impact culture". euronews. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  20. ^ Ivana Kottasová; Anna Chernova (5 December 2022). "Putin signs expanded anti-LGBTQ laws in Russia, in latest crackdown on rights". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  21. ^ Sewell Chan, U.N. Experts Condemn Killing and Torture of Gay Men in Chechnya Archived 28 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times (13 April 2017).
  22. ^ End abuse and detention of gay men in Chechnya, UN human rights experts tell Russia Archived 10 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (April 13, 2017).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Russian president signs legislation outlawing gender-affirming procedures". NBC News. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  25. ^ "Russian Supreme Court bans the whole LGBTQ movement and brands activists 'extremists'". Sky News. 30 November 2023. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Police raid Moscow gay bars after a Supreme Court ruling labeled LGBTQ+ movement 'extremist'". Carolina Coast Online. Associated Press. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  27. ^ Tarasova, Darya; Tuysuz, Gul; Deaton, Jen (4 December 2023). "Police raid gay venues in Russia after top court bans 'international LGBTQ movement'". CNN. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Russia adds 'LGBT movement' to 'terrorists and extremists' blacklist". France 24. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  29. ^ Times, The Moscow (22 March 2024). "Russia Adds 'LGBT Movement' to 'Terrorists and Extremists' List". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  30. ^ "LGBT movement added to Russia's list of extremist and terrorist organisations". 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.


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