“Homophobes now openly equate LGBT individuals to fascists and Nazis,” a spokesperson for a support group explains.
As if Russian lawmakers had nothing else to worry about nine months into the Kremlin’s war with Ukraine.
However, as their president strives to elevate traditional Russian values above what he has termed the “absolute Satanism” of the West, his parliament has passed a measure in its second reading that further restricts Russia’s marginalized LGBTQ+ population.
The 2013 law prohibiting the promotion of so-called homosexual propaganda to minors has been broadened to include all age groups.
Thus, films, literature, journalism, and advertising that overtly promote the concept of non-traditional sexual interactions or urge a gender change will be subject to substantial fines.
These can go up to 400,000 rubles ($5,500) for individuals and five million rubles ($70,000) for legal companies.
Foreign nationals convicted of breaking the law will be expelled from the Russian Federation.
Uncertain is how politicians want to implement the new law, whether through a deluge of lawsuits or just by frightening individuals into self-censorship.
Vladimir Komov from Delo LGBT, which provides legal aid to the LGBT community, said, “There are so many pieces of legislation already, and this is surely not the last.”
“We hope that by resisting the system and without hiding, we will be able to bring it down. It will be unable of handling the volume of cases.”
Delo LGBT is one of the few LGBT support organizations still operating in Russia. Others have departed the country after being labeled foreign agents.
It is unclear how many tens of thousands of LGBT individuals have departed Russia since February 24, especially considering the threat of conscription into the infamously homophobic Russian military, but Mr. Komov insists he must safeguard the rights of those who remain.
He is concerned that the new legislation will exacerbate violence, forced outing, catfishing, and extortion against Russia’s LGBT people, as well as create a permissive environment for ever-worsening hate speech.
Mr. Komov states, “Homophobes now openly compare LGBT individuals to fascists and Nazis.”
“Since February, LGBT opponents, who were originally designated as targets of the state ideology, a homophobic ideology, have become nearly the primary adversary.”
Despite increasing limitations, the LGBT scene in cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sochi was quite robust throughout the past decade. The gay clubs were crowded. They were not marked or advertised, yet they were not difficult to locate.
If anything, domestic homophobia was on the decline, especially among younger demographics.
Robert, an openly gay man residing in Moscow, says, “I was born in 2000, and the majority of my contemporaries are either LGBT-friendly or have a neutral stance.”
“The majority of them do not get why we need this restriction, and the notion that propaganda may convert someone into a homosexual seems absurd to them.”
The majority of Russian legislators are at least 40 years old, and they legislate on behalf of younger generations, many of whom have grown up with distinct perspectives. The book that topped the bestseller charts this summer is a fantastic example.
Pioneer in the summer Tie is about a romance between a teenager and his 19-year-old male group leader at a Soviet pioneer camp.
Despite being labeled 18+ in compliance with existing rules, it has gained a significant teen following, with the linked hashtag #lpvg accumulating 317 million views on TikTok as of this writing.
As MPs voted on the bill, the speaker of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, declared, “We must do everything to safeguard our children and those who wish to live a normal life.”
“Everything else is sin, sodomy, and darkness, and this is what our nation fights against.”
By prohibiting so-called LGBT propaganda, however, Russia’s legislators risk making it more appealing to a younger generation that may find the incessant talk about traditional values tiresome.
