On August 8th, Russia’s Supreme Court has officially issued an order to ban the international LGBTQ organization from operating within its borders. This comes just months after the nation passed a law that requires organizations to register as “foreign agents” if they receive funding from abroad. The law claims to be designed to protect the “values of the traditional family”, a thinly veiled warning to members of the LGBTQ community in the country.
The order from the court also prohibits members of the organization to openly promote any activities aimed at “socially destabilizing activities” or to “publicly propagate their lifestyle”. As a result, members of the international LGBTQ organization in Russia are unable to openly display any signs of support, such as the rainbow flag, promote their activism, host pride parades or hold any form of educational seminars without risk of arrest.
The Russian Government has a long record of oppressing LGBTQ rights and promoting homophobic policies. In 2013, the government passed a law that essentially restricts any form of “homosexual propaganda”, prohibiting any form of LGBTQ lifestyles to be publicly broadcasted. This bill was followed with a series of raids on LGBTQ organizations and incarceration of many activists within the community.
With this latest act of discrimination, it appears that Russia is seeking ways to tighten their grip on members of the LGBTQ community. This order sends a clear message to members of the international LGBTQ organization, that there are severely restricted rights in the country. Nonetheless, activists within the community are continuing to fight for equality and the recognition of LGBTQ members rights in Russia.