The Russian Justice Ministry has filed a lawsuit with the country’s Supreme Court seeking to declare the LGBTQ “international public movement” as extremist, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing crackdown against the LGBTQ community in Russia. The move is the latest in a series of restrictive measures that have been implemented over the past decade, aligning with President Vladimir Putin’s emphasis on “traditional family values.”
In an online statement, the Justice Ministry announced the lawsuit, citing “signs and manifestations of extremist nature” in the activities of the LGBTQ movement in Russia, including allegations of “incitement of social and religious discord.” The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for November 30 to consider the lawsuit.
The specific implications of labeling the LGBTQ movement as extremist in Russia remain unclear, but it represents a severe blow to LGBTQ rights in the country. Over the past decade, Russia has gradually curtailed LGBTQ rights, starting with the adoption of the “gay propaganda” law in 2013, which banned the noncritical public depiction of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors.
President Putin, who has consistently emphasized traditional family values, extended his rule in 2020 through a constitutional reform that also outlawed same-sex marriage. The rhetoric around protecting “traditional values” intensified in 2022 amid the conflict in Ukraine, and the authorities passed a law banning the propaganda of “nontraditional sexual relations” among adults.
In 2023, Russia enacted a law prohibiting gender transitioning procedures and gender-affirming care for transgender individuals. This legislation extended restrictions on changing one’s gender in official documents and records, and it listed gender change as a reason to annul a marriage. President Putin, in September 2022, expressed opposition to what he referred to as “perversions” and raised concerns about the imposition of alternative family structures in schools.
“Do we really want to have here, in our country, in Russia, ‘Parent No. 1, No. 2, No. 3’ instead of ‘mom’ and ‘dad?’” Putin said in September 2022 at a ceremony to formalize Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions. “Do we really want perversions that lead to degradation and extinction to be imposed in our schools from the primary grades?”
The lawsuit against the LGBTQ movement as extremist marks another significant step in Russia’s broader campaign against LGBTQ rights, prompting concerns about the future status and freedoms of the LGBTQ community in the country.
