Welcome to the twenty-fifth edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is human rights activist and founder of the European LGBT human rights organization Equal – PostOST, Evelina Chaika. A year ago, the non-existent “international LGBT movement” was designated an extremist organization and banned in Russia. This was the culmination of long-drawn-out struggle against anything not considered ‘traditional family life’ in Putin’s Russia. The history of homosexuality in Russia – as in other countries – is not straightforward. But while in other countries it was decriminalized long ago, in post-Soviet Russia this happened only in 1993 by decree of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. This was a preamble to joining the Council of Europe, an organisation for which the right to choose one’s sexuality is an integral part of human rights. However, it took a few more years for homosexuality to be removed from the list of illnesses in Russia. This only happened on 1 January 1999. At that point in time, homosexuals received the right to serve in the army. But today, in Putin’s Russia, the situation for the LGBT community is becoming more serious and dangerous. With the passage of the law banning transgender transition on 14 July 2023, trans and non-binary people have lost a legal avenue for recognition of their identity. The law has also jeopardized the safety of trans people who have already transitioned. Over the past ten years, Russian authorities have consistently restricted the rights of the LGBT community and shaped negative public attitudes through official statements and the media. The most important signal of a change of course was the adoption of a law on the banning of LGBT propaganda in relation to children in 2013. According to the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 90% of Russians were in favour of this law. After its adoption, many members of the LGBT community decided to leave Russia, and the number of those who have left continues to grow.
This podcast was recorded on 28 November 2024.