From Democracy to Totalitarianism: The Fate of LGBTQ+ in Russia

While the whole world is moving towards supporting minorities and protecting people's rights, in Russia it is exactly the opposite. In a country that once had a democracy-like regime, the vector is now shifting more and more towards a real dictatorship. On December 5, 2022, amendments to several laws that ban LGBTQ+ propaganda went into effect in Russia. This international movement is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia. The same applies to gender reassignment and the distribution of materials that promote non-traditional sexual relationships in books, advertising, media, movies, and computer games. Read on for more details.

What Counts as LGBTQ+ Propaganda

The main signs of propaganda are understood to be the formation of the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relationships and the imposition of information that arouses interest in such preferences, as well as in gender reassignment. Thus, first of all, it is prohibited to distribute materials promoting non-traditional relations in mass media, to sell goods for the distribution of which administrative or criminal liability is provided (for example, books), and to show movies where non-traditional relations are promoted.

On September 1, 2023, an order from Roskomnadzor (an organization that performs similar functions to the Federal Communications Commission) on criteria for LGBT and gender reassignment propaganda on the Internet also came into force. It will be in force until September 1, 2029. According to the document, websites will be included in the banned register if they publish information that allegedly convinces people of the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relationships and forms a positive attitude towards sex reassignment.

Liability for Violation of the LGBTQ+ Popularization Act

Not only direct information dissemination but also public events and a group of actions to form tendencies of certain sexual relations, the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations and a gender transposition or to form a 'distorted' understanding of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations 'social equivalence' are defined by the 2022 law as propaganda.

Fines range from $500 to $8,000 for citizens, $1,000 to $20,000 for executives and sole proprietorships, and medium-sized organizations can even get a fine of $8,000 to $100,000. Just imagine these figures, taking into account the average salary in Russia, which is only 500 dollars a month, if you believe the official data. And in reality, it is about 300 dollars at best.

A Few Examples

A Russian television program was fined one million rubles ($13,000) for LGBT propaganda. The reason for the fine is cited as the lack of "18+" age labeling on films that showed homosexual relationships. Before that, a Moscow court fined another Russian TV channel because of a clip of a local singer. The clip with a gay relationship was shown by the TV channel on the daytime air. Here is what was written in the court's opinion:

"The relationship in the clip of the lyrical hero (a male person) with a male person is positioned as having a special personal meaning and contains communicative signs of a romantic interpersonal relationship"

In addition, many people have already faced the new Russian reality: for "wrong" hairstyle or hair color you can easily be insulted on the streets and even beaten. This is especially true in the eastern regions of Russia, where attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people are particularly cruel. Police officers will also be happy to pick up on any detail that in any way links you to "propaganda of non-traditional values".

What to Expect in the Future

In short, the situation in Russia is getting worse literally every day. Given the trend in this direction, soon all this absurdity may easily reach the point where it will be forbidden to advertise such things as the female fertility test, as well as female personal hygiene products, condoms, and much more. And this is not just speculation, but rather a sad future reality of Russia. For example, not so long ago, one of the deputies seriously called for a ban on condom displays in the checkout areas of stores. Because it supposedly "makes teenagers think about the wrong things".

Conclusion

I want to believe that one day all this lawlessness will end and the inhabitants of the country will be able to return to their usual way of life. But for now, we have to endure and believe in a bright future. If you were planning to visit Russia - believe me, it is better not to do it at the present time...