At first reading, all 400 deputies present in the Russian State Duma, which has 450 seats, approved a bill that completely bans the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”. The parliamentary session took place behind closed doors because there have been no video broadcasts from the State Duma since 18 October. The second reading of the project is scheduled for November.
Before the session of the lower house, the communist and co-author of the bill, Nina Ostanina, said she had received a letter from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in support of the bill. The Duma is reacting with the law, you say, to an ideological war against Russia.
Already in 2013 the State Duma had approved a legal ban on “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”, but this was limited to minors. Now it needs to be extended to citizens of age in Russia. Several existing laws must be amended at the same time: the “On Information”, “On the Media”, “On State Support for Films” and “On Advertising” laws as well as the “On the Protection of Children from Harm Information” laws.
More bans and higher fines
In particular, news platforms and online services are prohibited from distributing material that promotes “non-traditional sexual relationships and (or) inclinations”. The register of these suppliers prepared so far by the Russian authorities contains four services: Yandex News, News@mail.ru, Rambler News and SMI2.
The same prohibition applies to audiovisual services. These include, for example, the online services “Kinopoisk”, “Amediateka” and “START”. Similar restrictions will be imposed on owners of media and social networks. Lawmakers also intend to ban the showing and distribution of films that allegedly contain such “propaganda”.
Yandex News is on the list of Russian authorities
Additional restrictions apply to advertising and material that is not subject to age restrictions. The bill therefore not only prohibits “propaganda”. In addition, “non-traditional sexual relationships and inclinations” must not appear in advertisements or in material accessible to children.
In addition, sanctions will be tightened for violations of the ban on “LGBT propaganda”. In the future, individuals will face a fine of up to 400,000 rubles (about 6,500 euros). In aggravating circumstances, with “propaganda” for minors via the Internet or the media, private individuals risk penalties of up to 13,000 euros and legal persons up to 162,000 euros. A court order that violates this law can also close a business for up to 90 days.
Worried about book publishers and event organizers
Prior to the first reading of the bill, the Russian Book Union (RKS) warned in a letter to parliamentarian Alexander Chinshtejn that the Duma’s approval would have unforeseeable consequences. The letter lists works of Russian literature that contain elements that could be interpreted ambiguously in light of changes in the law, including adultery in Lev Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”, sexual assault in Mikhail Sholokhov’s “Silent Don” and the “pedophilia” in Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita”.
“Given the wide scope of the bill, publishers are unable to independently assess and exclude books that may violate it,” said the Russian Book Union. Deputy Khinshtein replied that one should not worry about the literary works cited. They face “no revision or revision”.
The organizers of the LGBT Side by Side film festival, which takes place every autumn in St. Petersburg, are calling for the repeal of laws that violate the rights of LGBT + people. “It is not yet clear exactly how this law will work, but it will certainly affect the film industry, media, websites and social networks and possibly various festivals, exhibitions and theaters as well as the book business, streaming services and concerts. “. , according to a statement.
Victims of the Kremlin regime
After the “propaganda ban on homosexual relations between minors” imposed nine years ago, unknown activists, well-known bloggers and corporations have been accused of violations. For example, in 2019, local activist Yulia Tsvetkova was fined in Komsomolsk-on-Amur for running LGBT-friendly groups on social networks.
In 2021, the court fined the MUZ television channel one million rubles (about 16,000 euros) because blogger Danya Milokhin appeared on a tuxedo show. This year, journalist Yury Dud was fined the equivalent of € 2,000 by a Moscow court for conducting an interview with outright gay artist and director Fyodor Pavlov-Andreievich.
Adapted from Russian: Markian Ostapchuk
