Public talk of homosexuality could be banned

MPs claim the popularisation of ‘non-traditional sexual relations’ are as dangerous for the development of Russian society as the promotion of suicide, drugs, extremism and crime.

A protester holds up an image representing Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing lipstick during a protest against Russian anti-gay laws opposite the Russian embassy in Madrid, Spain. Picture: Getty Images

Discussing a childless lifestyle and homosexuality in public could soon be barred in Russia under a proposed law that claims it is as harmful as extremism and drug use.

Draft legislation introduced to parliament this week by a group of pro-Kremlin MPs alleged that “new values” were undermining Russian society and exacerbating the demographic crisis.

The MPs said that denial of the value of the family, advocacy of a childfree lifestyle and the popularisation of non-traditional sexual relations were as dangerous for the development of Russian society as the promotion of suicide, drugs, extremism and crime.

Rosstat, the state statistics service, has predicted Russia’s population could decline by up to 12 million in the next two decades.

Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina, who recently came out as gay and blasted Russia’s stance on homosexuality. Picture: Getty Images

The warning was issued before the war in Ukraine, in which tens of thousands of young Russian soldiers are thought to have been killed. The Kremlin has tried to plug the demographic hole by offering incentives for families to have more than one child and making it easier for foreigners to obtain Russian citizenship.

Daria Kasatkina speaks about the difficulties of being gay in Russia pic.twitter.com/guNLUStx17

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Members of the upper house of parliament have also pushed for childfree ideas to be banned. “Under the guise of freedom of choice, the refusal to create a family and have children is promoted,” Margarita Pavlova, a senator in President Putin’s ruling party, said.

The law is part of a wider move to combat what officials said was a malign western influence promoted through social media and films. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of parliament, boasted this month that “attempts to impose alien values on our society have failed”. Russia recently barred Facebook and Instagram as “extremist”.

Russia introduced a law in 2013 that made it an offence to portray same-sex relationships in a positive light to children. The new law would widen the ban to include adults, making any public discussion of LGBT issues a crime. Homosexuality is not illegal in Russia but the “gay propaganda” law triggered a spike in homophobic attacks and discrimination, human rights groups said.

It is unclear what the penalties would be for violating the law, if it is approved. Yury Dud, a well-known journalist, was recently fined 120,000 roubles ($3075) over a video that officials said promoted homosexuality. Censors could block media outlets that flout the new law.

Nikolai Burlyayev, an MP who was one of the authors of the proposed new law, has called for the “eradication” of the words childfree, LGBT and gay.

Russian pop due tAtu cultivated a lesbian image during their heyday in the early 2000s. Picture: Supplied

Mr Putin has sought to portray Russia as a bastion of traditional Christian values. Under the new 2020 constitution, marriage is defined as “a union between a man and a woman”. State television regularly broadcasts propaganda reports on the “degradation” of the West. Despite this, Russia has some of the highest divorce rates in the world.

Daria Kasatkina, the Russian tennis player and world No 12, has criticised her country’s attitude to homosexuality after coming out. Speaking to a Russian blogger on YouTube, she said: “So many subjects are taboo in Russia. This notion of someone wanting to be gay or becoming [gay] is ridiculous.” Asked if it was safe to hold hands with her girlfriend, she said: “Judging by things that are going on now, it will never be OK.”

The Times