Russia adds ‘LGBT movement’ to list of extremist, terrorist organisations

Russia has added what it calls the “LGBT movement” to a list of extremist and terrorist organisations, state media said, according to report by Reuter.

The move was in line with a ruling by Russia’s Supreme Court last November that LGBT activists should be designated as extremists, a move that representatives of gay and transgender people said they feared would lead to arrests and prosecutions.

The Rosfinmonitoring watchdog has the power to freeze bank accounts of specific entities named on the list, but did not name any person or organisation on its website.

Russia’s Supreme Court declared the movement as “extremist” last November, without saying to whom it referred but effectively banning LGBTQ activism across the country.

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The Kremlin has taken a conservative turn since launching its offensive in Ukraine two years ago, casting the conflict as a battleground against the West and its ideas.

As part of a shift under President Vladimir Putin towards what he portrays as family values that contrast with decadent Western attitudes, Russia has tightened restrictions over the past decade on expressions of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Among other steps, it has passed laws outlawing the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relations and banned legal or medical changes of gender.

Russia banned what it calls “gay propaganda” among adults in 2022, extending an earlier law that forbade it among minors. That effectively outlawed any representation of “non-traditional sexual relations” in public and in the media.