Reacting to the Russian Ministry of Justice’s move to seek to ban as “extremist” the leading LGBTI organizations in Russia – Russian LGBT Network and the Saint Petersburg-based group Vykhod (Exit) – Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:
“The Russian authorities are once again abusing vague ‘extremism’ laws to criminalize human rights work, erase independent civil society and intimidate people whose identity does not fit a state-approved narrative.”
“This move reflects a deliberate strategy by the Kremlin to legitimize and weaponize homophobia in its assault on dissent and equality, non-discrimination, and human dignity. This cynical policy, conducted under the pretext of ‘protecting traditional values,’ creates enduring rifts in society, stigmatizes entire communities and does real harm to many people.
This move reflects a deliberate strategy by the Kremlin to legitimize and weaponize homophobia in its assault on dissent and equality, non-discrimination, and human dignity
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director
“Russia’s authorities must immediately halt their vicious campaign against LGBTI people, end all attempts to undermine, stigmatize and persecute LGBTI organizations and rights activists, and ensure that everyone – regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity – can exercise their rights to freedom of association and expression without fear of discrimination.”
Background
On 2 February, the Joint Press Service of the Courts of Saint Petersburg announced that the Ministry of Justice had filed lawsuits seeking to have the two prominent LGBTI initiatives designated as “extremist organizations” and banned. Saint Petersburg City Court will hear both cases on 24 February. The hearings will be closed to the public as the lawsuit purportedly contains “secret documents.”
In November 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court declared the non-existent “international LGBT movement” as “extremist,” which led to a wave of arrests, detentions and fines of individuals for displaying rainbow flags and other symbols associated with LGBTI rights. In November 2025, the Ministry of Justice’s Samara regional branch filed a lawsuit to declare the local queer initiative Irida “extremist,” following 2024 targeting by authorities of its head Artyom Fokin under “extremist” and “foreign agents” legislation.
