The Ministry of Justice in Russia recently filed a lawsuit with their Supreme Court to outlaw the international LGBTQ+ movement, labeling it as “extremist.”
The move follows decades long hostility from the Russian government toward the LGBTQ+ community, and years of limitations on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia. According to Al Jazeera, President Vladimir Putin has “put ‘traditional family values’ at the cornerstone of his rule.” Putin continues to exercise a tyrannical rule with many conservative laws limiting the freedoms of many of that country’s people.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country has doubled down on left-leaning groups and organizations, and anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the country have become even more pervasive. Same-sex marriage was outlawed in 2020, and one law allows authorities “to fine any individual or organization found to have promoted homosexuality in public, online, or in films, books or advertising,” according to Reuters.
Earlier this year, Russian lawmakers passed a bill outlawing gender reassignment procedures for transgender people, a bill which also annulled marriages in which one partner has transitioned. The bill also outlawed the possibility of adoption for transgender parents.
In their statement, the ministry accused the LGBTQ+ movement of indicating “various signs and manifestations of extremism, including incitement to social and religious hatred.” Conservative ideology in Russia presumably seeks to push displays LGBTQ+ life and identities out of public society altogether.
