LGBT rights in Russia

Public opinion in Russia tends to be hostile toward homosexuality and the level of intolerance has been rising.[21] A 2013 survey found that 74% of Russians said homosexuality should not be accepted by society (up from 60% in 2002), compared to 16% who said that homosexuality should be accepted by society.[22] A 2015 survey found that 86% of Russians said homosexuality should not be accepted by society.[23] In a 2007 survey, 68% of Russians said homosexuality is always wrong (54%) or almost always wrong (14%).[24] In a 2005 poll, 44% of Russians were in favour of making homosexual acts between consenting adults a criminal act;[25] at the same time, 43% of Russians supported a legal ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[25] In 2013, 16% of Russians surveyed said that gay people should be isolated from society, 22% said they should be forced to undergo treatment, and 5% said homosexuals should be "liquidated".[26] In Russian psychiatry, Soviet mentality about homosexuality has endured into the present day.[27] For instance, in spite of the removal of homosexuality from the nomenclature of mental disorders, 62.5% of 450 surveyed psychiatrists in the Rostov Region view it as an illness, and up to three quarters view it as immoral behavior.[27] The psychiatrists sustain the objections to pride parades and the use of veiled schemes to lay off openly lesbian and gay persons from schools, child care centres, and other public institutions.[27] A Russian motorcycle club called the Night Wolves, which is closely associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin and which suggests "Death to faggots" as an alternate name for itself,[28] organized a large Anti-Maidan rally in February 2015 at which a popular slogan was "We don't need Western ideology and gay parades!"[29]

Neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions of same-sex couples are allowed in Russia. In July 2013, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, of which approximately 71% of Russians are adherents,[30] said that the idea of same-sex marriage was "a very dangerous sign of the Apocalypse".[31] At a 2011 press conference, the head of the Moscow Registry Office, Irina Muravyova, declared: "Attempts by same-sex couples to marry both in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia are doomed to fail. We live in a civil society, we are guided by the federal law, [and] by the Constitution that clearly says: marriage in Russia is between a man and a woman. Such a marriage [same-sex] cannot be contracted in Russia."[32] The vast majority of the Russian public are also against same-sex marriage.[25][33] In July 2020, Russian voters approved a Constitution amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Before 1993, homosexual acts between consenting males were against the law in Russia,[1] and homosexuality was considered a mental disorder until adoption of ICD-10 in 1999,[34] but even after that military medical expertise statute was in force to continue considering homosexuality a mental disorder which was a reason to deny homosexuals to serve in the military. On July 1, 2003, a new military medical expertise statute was adopted; it said people "who have problems with their identity and sexual preferences" can only be drafted during war times.[35] However, this clause contradicted another clause of the same statute which stated that different sexual orientation should not be considered a deviation. This ambiguity was resolved by the Major-General of the Medical Service Valery Kulikov who clearly stated that new medical statute "does not forbid people of non-standard sexual orientation from serving in the military."[36] However, he added that people of non-standard sexual orientation should not reveal their sexual orientation while serving in the army because "other soldiers are not going to like that, they can be beaten".[37] President Vladimir Putin said in a U.S. television interview in 2010 that openly gay men were not excluded from military service in Russia.[38] In 2013, it was reported that the Defense Ministry had issued a guideline on assessment of new recruits' mental health that recommends recruits be asked about their sexual history and be examined for certain types of tattoos, especially genital or buttocks tattoos, that would allegedly indicate a homosexual orientation.[38][39]

LGBT activists in St. Petersburg, Russia, 1 May 2017

There have been notable objections to the organization of gay pride parades[40] in several Russian cities, most prominently Moscow, where authorities have never approved a request to hold a gay pride rally.[41] Former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov supported the city's refusal to authorize the first two editions of Nikolay Alexeyev's Moscow Pride events, calling them as "satanic". The events still went on as planned, in defiance of their lack of authorization.[42][43] In 2010, Russia was fined by the European Court of Human Rights, ruling that, as alleged by Alexeyev, Russian cities were discriminating against gays by refusing to authorize pride parades. Although authorities had claimed allowing pride events to be held would pose a risk of violence, the Court ruled that their decisions "effectively approved of and supported groups who had called for [their] disruption."[44] In August 2012, contravening the previous ruling, the Moscow City Court upheld a ruling blocking requests by the organizers of Moscow Pride for authorization to hold the parade yearly through 2112, citing the possibility of public disorder and a lack of support for such events by residents of Moscow.[45][46][47]

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov (right) with Chechnya's parliamentary chairman Magomed Daudov

Anti-gay purges in the Chechen Republic, a part of the Russian Federation, have included forced disappearances — secret abductions, imprisonment, and torture — by authorities targeting persons based on their perceived sexual orientation. An unknown number of men, who authorities detained on suspicion of being gay or bisexual, have reportedly died after being held in what human rights groups and eyewitnesses have called concentration camps.[48][49]

Allegations were initially reported on 1 April 2017 in Novaya Gazeta,[2] a Russian-language opposition newspaper, which reported that since February 2017 over 100 men had allegedly been detained and tortured and at least three had died in an extrajudicial killing. The paper, citing its sources in the Chechen special services, called the wave of detentions a "prophylactic sweep".[2][3] The journalist who first reported on the subject went into hiding.[50][51] There have been calls for reprisals against journalists who report on the situation.[52]

As news spread of Chechen authorities' actions, which have been described as part of a systematic anti-LGBT purge, Russian and international activists scrambled to evacuate survivors of the camps and other vulnerable Chechens but were met with difficulty obtaining visas to conduct them safely beyond Russia.[53]

The reports of the persecution were met with a variety of reactions worldwide. The Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov denied not only the occurrence of any persecution but also the existence of gay men in Chechnya, adding that such people would be killed by their own families.[54][55] Officials in Moscow were sceptical, although in late May the Russian government reportedly agreed to send an investigative team to Chechnya.[56] Numerous national leaders and other public figures in the West condemned Chechnya's actions, and protests were held in Russia and elsewhere. A report released in December 2018 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed claims that persecution of LGBT persons had taken place and was ignored by authorities.[57][58]

On 11 January 2019, it was reported that another 'gay purge' had begun in the country in December 2018, with several gay men and women being detained.[59][60][61][62][63] The Russian LGBT Network believes that around 40 persons were detained and two killed.[64][65]

Ten Russian regions passed laws banning the distribution of "propaganda" relating to homosexuality, and/or other LGBT relationships, to minors.

  Ban on the promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism

  Ban on the promotion of homosexuality and bisexuality

  Ban on the promotion of homosexuality

Between 2006 and 2013, ten regions enacted a ban on "propaganda of homosexualism" among minors. The laws of nine of them prescribe punishments of administrative sanctions and/or fines. The laws in some of the regions also forbid so-called "propaganda of bisexualism and transgenderism" to minors. As of May 2013 the regions that had enacted these various laws, and the years in which they had passed the laws, included: Ryazan Oblast (2006), Arkhangelsk Oblast (2011), Saint Petersburg (2012), Kostroma Oblast (2012), Magadan Oblast (2012), Novosibirsk Oblast (2012), Krasnodar Krai (2012), Samara Oblast (2012), Bashkortostan (2012),[note 3] and Kaliningrad Oblast (February 2013).[note 4] Then, Arkhangelsk (2013) and Saint Petersburg (2014) removed the law.

In 2019, Russia cut and censored gay sex scenes in the movie musical Rocketman based on the life of British singer Elton John, a decision he criticized, saying it is "cruelly unaccepting of the love between two people."[104]

In June 2013 the national parliament (the State Duma) unanimously adopted, and President Vladimir Putin signed,[105] a nationwide law banning the distribution of materials promoting LGBT relationships among minors.[9][99][106][107][108] The law does not explicitly mention the word "homosexuality", but instead uses the euphemism "non-traditional sexual relationships".[9][109] Under the statute it is effectively illegal to perform any of the following in the presence of minors: hold gay pride events, speak in favor of gay rights, or say that gay relationships are equal to heterosexual relationships.[9][103][106][107][108]

The law subjects Russian citizens found guilty to fines of up to 5,000 rubles and public officials to fines of up to 50,000 rubles.[110] Organizations or businesses will be fined up to 1 million rubles and be forced to cease operations for up to 90 days. Foreigners may be arrested and detained for up to 15 days then deported, as well as fined up to 100,000 rubles. Russian citizens who have used the Internet or media to promote "non-traditional relations" will be fined up to 100,000 rubles.[9]

The statute amended a law that is said to protect children from pornography and other "harmful information".[105] One of the authors of the statute, Yelena Mizulina, who is the chair of the Duma's Committee on Family, Women, and Children and who has been described by some as a moral crusader,[111][112][113] told lawmakers as the bill was being considered, "Traditional sexual relations are relations between a man and a woman.... These relations need special protection".[103] Mizulina argued that a recent poll had shown 88% of the public were in support of the bill.[114]

Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, Vitaly Milonov. Milonov is interviewed in the 2014 American documentary film Campaign of Hate: Russia and Gay Propaganda.

Commenting on the bill prior to its passage, President Putin said, during a visit to Amsterdam in April 2013, "I want everyone to understand that in Russia there are no infringements on sexual minorities' rights. They're people, just like everyone else, and they enjoy full rights and freedoms".[109] He went on to say that he fully intended to sign the bill because the Russian people demanded it.[103] As he put it, "Can you imagine an organization promoting pedophilia in Russia? I think people in many Russian regions would have started to take up arms.... The same is true for sexual minorities: I can hardly imagine same-sex marriages being allowed in Chechnya. Can you imagine it? It would have resulted in human casualties."[103] Putin also mentioned that he was concerned about Russia's low birth-rate and that same-sex relationships do not produce children.[105]

Critics say that the statute is written so broadly that it is in effect a complete ban on the gay rights movement and any public expression of LGBT culture.[31][103][109]

In July 2013, four Dutch tourists were arrested for allegedly discussing gay rights with Russian youths. The four were arrested for allegedly spreading "propaganda of nontraditional relationships among the under-aged" after talking to teens at a camp in the northern city of Murmansk.[115]

In March 2018 the Russian authorities forbade the biggest gay website Gay.ru because of "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships".[116]

Saint Petersburg, 1 May 2014

According to a survey conducted in June 2013 by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), at least 90% of those surveyed were in favor of the law.[31][117]

Activists painted the pedestrian pavement in front of the Russian Embassy in Finland with rainbow colors to protest Russian's anti-LGBT sentimentality and legislation. Similar activism has been done in Sweden.

International human rights organisations and the governments of developed democracies around the world have strongly condemned this Russian law.[118][119][120][121] The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned this Russian statute and another similar one in Moldova (which was later repealed) as discriminatory and has made clear that the Russian statute in question is a violation of international human rights law, including the right of gay children to receive proper information.[122][123][124][125][126] The European Parliament has condemned Russia for homophobic discrimination and censorship[127] and the Council of Europe has called on Russia to protect LGBT rights properly.[128] The European Court of Human Rights had previously fined Russia for other infringements of LGBT rights.[129] In 2012 the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that a similar statute in the Russia's Ryazan Region was discriminatory, infringed on freedom of expression, and was inadmissible under international law—a Russian court in Ryazan later agreed and struck it down.[130][131] Some members of the gay community commenced a boycott of Russian goods, particularly Russian vodka.[132]

Many Western celebrities and activists are openly opposed to the law and have encouraged a boycott of Russian products—notably Russian vodka—as well as a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, which were scheduled to be held in Sochi, unless the Games were relocated out of Russia.[133][134][135][136]

United States President Barack Obama said that while he did not favour boycotting the Sochi Olympics over the law, "Nobody's more offended than me about some of the anti-gay and lesbian legislation that you've been seeing in Russia".[137] Obama subsequently, in September 2013, met with Russian gay rights activists during a visit to St. Petersburg to attend a meeting of the G-20 nations' leaders. Obama said that he was proud of the work the activists were doing. His aides had said that Obama's opposition to the anti-gay propaganda law was one reason Obama had canceled a meeting previously planned to have been held with Russian President Putin during the trip.[137]

The law was also condemned by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German cabinet secretaries,[138] British Prime Minister David Cameron,[139] Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr,[140] as well as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.[141]