I Was Banned: How the Situation of Russian LGBTQ Individuals and Organizations Has Changed After the Russian Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

2024-05-23 | Publications

Authors and human rights defenders: Maxim Olenichev, Maria Sabunaeva, Evelina Chayka, anonymous sociologist Interviewers: Maria Bonin, anonymous interviewers Executive editor: Polina Neguliaeva Layout: Olga Golovina
English translation: anonymous translator
German translation: Aleksandr Ananev
Project coordination: Evelina Chayka, Polina Neguliaeva

Introduction

On February 24, 2022, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began. These events have affected the lives of not only Ukrainian civilians but also selected social groups within Russia. Since that day, the Russian authorities, headed by Vladimir Putin, have intensified the persecution of LGBTQ people, and a new phase of reprisals against the LGBTQ community has become one of the main directions of domestic policy.

The officially chosen state narrative is dedicated to turning the Russian people’s attention away from the military failure. This leads to the persecution of Russian society’s members primarily on the basis of their membership in a social group rather than their actions and views.

Putin’s regime put a massive resource into cultivating LGBTQ-community hatred. Such influence on public opinion contributes to more widespread repression. LGBTQ people face hate crimes and hate speeches. They have been denied medical treatment, they get fired from their jobs and expelled from their educational institutions, and they suffer from daily life discrimination and police abuse. The repressive measures are applied not only by the state itself within the framework of homophobic and transphobic legislation but also by Russian society.

Although authorities’ attention to a particular group and incitement to hatred against a group on the basis of affiliation are not unique proceeds for Russia, the restrictions on LGBTQ people’s rights and freedoms by law and on practices reach emergency proportions. Mariana Katsarova, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Russian Federation, responded to these changes. On September 20, 2023, she made the following points in her report’, to the UN Human Rights Council:

Since 2022, anti-LGBTQ laws have become a cornerstone of the Putin regime’s policies.
The laws <<banning gay propaganda among all ages»> and <<the gender transition law» must be repealed.
The ban on disseminating information on sexual orientation and gender identity, depriving transgender people of the right to transition (legal and medical), and prohibiting marriage, adoption, custody, or guardianship of children contravene Russia’s human rights obligations.

EQUAL PostOst, a European human rights organization, conducted a study on the situation of LGBTQ people in 2023—both those who continue to live in Russia after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and those who were forced to flee the country. The purpose of the report is a detailed analysis of the changes that have occurred in the situation of LGBTQ people in Russia at the level of legislation, practices of its implementation, daily life, and psychological state of the community, as well as providing recommendations for the governments of LGBTQ-safe countries.

In the process of preparing the report, 30 experts working on the Russian LGBTQ agenda were interviewed. These included psychologists, lawyers, and human rights activists; specialists in migration and evacuation of LGBTQ people (including those from the North Caucasus); representatives of local aid organizations; activists involved in supporting transgender people; and LGBTQ families with children. An online survey was also conducted with the participation of 3,591 people, both those living in Russia and those who will be forced to leave Russia after February 2022.

Read the full publication here.