Vladimir Putin has recently enacted new legislation that imposes severe restrictions on gender-related changes, dealing a significant blow to Russia’s LGBTQ+ community. The law, which gained unanimous approval from both houses of parliament, forbids any medical procedures aimed at altering a person’s sex or gender. It also prohibits changing one’s gender in official documents or public records, with the only exception being medical interventions to address congenital anomalies.
Furthermore, the legislation invalidates marriages in which one partner has undergone a gender transition, and it also prevents transgender individuals from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The rationale behind this ban is rooted in the Kremlin’s mission to uphold what it perceives as the nation’s “traditional values.” Supporters of the law argue that it is necessary to safeguard Russia from what they consider “western anti-family ideology,” with some going as far as describing gender transitioning as “pure satanism.”
This harsh stance on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia can be traced back to a decade ago when the president initially emphasized the promotion of “traditional family values,” garnering support from the Russian Orthodox Church. The LGBTQ+ community has faced an ongoing crackdown ever since, leading to an increasingly challenging environment for their rights and acceptance in the country.
In 2013, the Kremlin adopted legislation that banned any public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors. In 2020, Putin pushed through constitutional reform that outlawed same-sex marriage and last year he signed a law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” among adults.