On 21 April 2022, a St Petersburg district court issued a decision to shut down the LGBT+ rights organisation that I run, Charitable Foundation Sphere.
CF Sphere had provided direct assistance to LGBT+ people in Russia, supported regional initiatives and led advocacy efforts to raise awareness about discrimination for more than a decade.
The Russian Ministry of Justice said the foundation’s activity went against state policy because “all the actual activities of the organisation are aimed at supporting the LGBT movement in Russia” and therefore Sphere was aiming to “change the legislation and moral foundations in the Russian Federation”. Such a court ruling, based on ideology rather than law, sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of LGBT+ initiatives in the country.
