• The lower house of the Russian parliament overwhelmingly agreed to prolong the prohibition on alleged “homosexual propaganda.”
• Activists claim it is an additional effort to oppress the LGBT community in Russia.
• In Russia’s lower house, the Duma, it was adopted by 397 votes to 0 with no abstentions.

On alleged “homosexual propaganda.”

The most recent version of the law makes it unlawful to promote homosexuality in any form, including books, movies, or online, and it carries severe penalties.

After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised it as a “blow to freedom of expression,” the law earned the moniker “Answer to Blinken.”

Activists claim it is an additional effort to oppress the LGBT community in Russia.

In Russia’s lower house, the Duma, it was adopted by 397 votes to 0 with no abstentions.

Although the law still needs to pass the upper house and be approved by President Vladimir Putin, this is mainly considered as a formality.

When the contentious “gay propaganda” law was first introduced in 2013, it outlawed “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations,” which includes representations of same-sex partnerships, among children.

Any positive portrayals of same-sex relationships in media or advertising are categorised under the same heading as the distribution of pornography, the encouragement of violence, or the escalation of racial, ethnic, and religious conflicts.

Publishers are worried that the ban on advertising, publications, and movies that promote the LGBT community will have an impact on the canonical works of Russian literature.

Online talks regarding LGBT issues can be barred, and selling products with LGBT slogans or symbols is also forbidden.

The maximum fine for an individual infringer is 400,000 rubles ($6,600), while the maximum sanction for businesses is 5 million rubles ($82,100).

If they do not comply, foreigners and stateless individuals run the prospect of being jailed or expelled from Russia.

Advocates for human rights and LGBT organisations claim that the extension makes it illegal to do anything or acknowledge the LGBT community in public.

The original prohibition, which was enacted nine years ago, sparked a surge of attacks against the LGBTQ community, according to Kseniya Mikhailova of the Russian LGBT support group Vykhod (a play on words to imply “coming out”).

She told the Reuters news agency that the amendment’s implementation “means the state is not against violence against LGBT people” and that there would now be a “tsunami” of hostility.

Anthony Blinken pleaded with Russia on Wednesday to renounce the proposal and “respect the human rights and dignity of everybody.”

In contrast, Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Duma, referred to it as the “Answer to Blinken bill” in the legislature.

According to him, the measure will shield the nation from LGBT beliefs, which he referred to as the “darkness” brought by the West.

The core of Vladimir Putin’s political platform is anti-gay speech.

He said in a recent lecture that the West was “heading towards open Satanism,” using the European Union’s support of gay and transgender rights as an illustration.

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