Russia’s LGBTIQ community faces its biggest challenge since the Soviet Union’s draconian anti-gay laws, with Kremlin propagandists declaring the country is at war not only with Ukraine, but also with the US and the EU – including over ‘values’.
Against this backdrop, Russian LGBTIQ activists and organisations are increasingly being labelled ‘foreign agents’. Some organisations have had to shut down, while others have left the country or gone ‘underground’.
And as the Russian state and Orthodox Church attempt to depict the war against Ukraine as a “clash of civilisations”, there are moves to further restrict freedom of expression.
