On November 24, the Russian Parliament’s lower house, the Duma, had unanimously passed the final bill. The law was adopted in 2013 and the new package of legislation makes it wider and stronger.Summer in a Pioneer Tie’, a novel about love between Yury, a diffident 16-year-old boy, and Volodya, a 19-year-old undergraduate man, written by Elena Malisova and Katerina Silvanova, is a runaway hit and making waves everywhere.And without doubt, it is the latest catalyst for the law that expands Russia’s restrictions on promotion of ‘LGBTQ+ propaganda’, which was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. It is a fresh crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community and bans any public expression of “nontraditional sexual relations” within the Russian Federation
On November 24, the Russian Parliament’s lower house, the Duma, had unanimously passed the final bill. The law was adopted in 2013 and the new package of legislation, passed with a clear majority in the Russian Parliament, makes it wider and harsher.
EXPANDING THE 2013 LAW
With the new law coming into force, a heavier penalty would be imposed on anyone trying to promote homosexuality – in the media, advertising, movies or on social media – within the country.hose found doing so may now be fined up to 400,000 rubles ($6,370 or Rs 5,24,158) for “LGBTQ+ propaganda” and up to 200,000 rubles ($3,185 or Rs 2,62,079) for “demonstrations of LGBTQ+ and information that encourages a change of gender among teenagers”. For organisations, the fines may go up to five million rubles ($80,000 or Rs 65,83,880).
A foreign national might face arrest for up to 15 days and expulsion if he/she breaches the law.Any marches suggesting support for homosexuals are outlawed and gay rights activists can now be jailed by the Russian authorities under the new law.The new legislation prohibits promotion or “praising” homosexual or LGBTQ+ relationships, gender reassignment surgery, or normalising homosexual relations among the Russian population. No one would be allowed to publicly express non-heterosexual orientations or promote that they are “normal”.
The 2013 law banned dissemination of information to minors. The new legislation broadens the scope and makes such dissemination among adults illegal as well. The new law also prohibits propaganda about paedophilia.
Tanya Lokshina, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, reportedly said: “The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of political homophobia, and the new draft legislation amplifies that in broader and harsher ways.”
In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights said that the 2013 law was discriminatory, promoted homophobia and violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
