A recent development by the Russian state financial watchdog has drawn widespread attention and concern. The “LGBT public movement” was labelled as a terrorist organization last Friday, following a report by Russian state media outlet, TASS. This comes three months after the Supreme Court of Russia ordered the LGBT+ movement to be declared as extremist.
The Federal Service for Monitoring (Rosfinmonitoring) made the decision to include the LGBT+ movement in its official list of terrorist and extremist organizations. Rosfinmonitoring, a federal organization charged with combatting international money laundering and terrorist financing, also assesses national security threats. It’s notable that other organizations on their list include Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
In 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit against the LGBT+ movement, accusing it of inciting social and religious discord. The Supreme Court of Russia ruled in the Ministry’s favor and declared the LGBT+ movement as an extremist organization, leading to an immediate ban on all LGBT+ activities and the use of the rainbow pride flag.
This ruling drew substantial criticism globally. Human Rights Watch described the decision as the “perverse persecution of LGBT people.” Following the ruling, several individuals in Russia have been prosecuted for ‘extremist activities’, which included associations with the LGBT+ movement, such as posting pictures of a rainbow flag on social media or wearing rainbow-patterned attire.
Beyond this, the LGBT+ community in Russia has faced ongoing challenges. Amendments to Article 1 of the Russian Constitution in 2020 declared that marriage could only be between a man and a woman. In addition, gender affirming care for transgender individuals in Russia was prohibited as of July 2023.
As this issue develops, it is clear that this will have far-reaching implications for LGBT+ rights advocacy, not just in Russia but around the globe.