Russian laws prohibit public displays of symbols of extremist organisations, and LGBTQ rights advocates have warned that those displaying rainbow-coloured flags or other items might be targeted by the authorities.
On Monday, a court in Saratov, a city 730km (453 miles) southeast of Moscow, handed a 1,500-ruble (roughly US$16) fine to artist and photographer Inna Mosina over several Instagram posts depicting rainbow flags, Russia’s independent news site Mediazona reported.
The case contained the full text of the Supreme Court ruling, which named a rainbow flag the “international” symbol of the LGBTQ “movement”.
Mosina and her defence team maintained her innocence, according to the reports. Mosina said the posts were published before the ruling, at a time when rainbow flags were not regarded by authorities as extremist, and her lawyer argued that a police report about her alleged wrongdoing was filed before the ruling took force.
The court ordered her to pay the fine nonetheless.
Last week, a court in Nizhny Novgorod, some 400km (248 miles) east of Moscow, ordered Anastasia Yershova to serve five days in prison on the same charge for wearing rainbow-coloured earrings in public, Mediazona reported.
In Volgograd, 900km (559 miles) south of Moscow, a court fined a man 1,000 roubles (about US$11) for allegedly posting a rainbow flag on social media, local court officials reported on Thursday, identifying the man only as Artyom P.
Russia bans ‘LGBTQ movement’, sparking fears of new crackdown
Russia bans ‘LGBTQ movement’, sparking fears of new crackdown
In 2013, the Kremlin adopted the first legislation restricting LGBTQ rights, known as the “gay propaganda” law, banning any public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors.
In 2020, constitutional reforms pushed through by Putin to extend his rule by two more terms included a provision to outlaw same-sex marriage.
That year, the authorities adopted a law banning propaganda of “nontraditional sexual relations” among adults, effectively outlawing any public endorsement of LGBTQ people.
Russian party filled with semi-naked celebrities in eye of anti-LGBTQ storm
Russian party filled with semi-naked celebrities in eye of anti-LGBTQ storm
Another law passed in 2023 prohibited gender transitioning procedures and gender-affirming care for transgender people.
The legislation prohibited “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person”, as well as changing one’s gender in official documents and public records.
It also amended Russia’s Family Code by listing gender change as a reason to annul a marriage and adding those “who had changed gender” to a list of people who cannot become foster or adoptive parents.
“Do we really want to have here, in our country, in Russia, ‘Parent No 1, No 2, No 3’ instead of ‘mum’ and ‘dad’?” Putin said in September 2022. “Do we really want perversions that lead to degradation and extinction to be imposed in our schools from the primary grades?”
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