On this day in 2013 Russian President Vladamir Putin signed a bill known as the federal law for “the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values”.
Outside of Russia it’s been dubbed the anti-gay propoganda law. It was passed by the Russian parliament on June 11th 2013, and Putin made it official just over a fortnight later.
The law called for action to be taken to prevent the LGBT community as a normal part of Russian society, saying the promotion of non-traditional relationships would be harmful to children.
The introduction of the law was widely condemned by human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
In 2022 the law was expanded to outlaw any promotion, reference or symbolism relating the gay, lesbian and transgender people regardless of age group.
Researchers have claimed that since the introduction of the laws the level of hate crimes directed at LGBT people in Russia have increased three-fold.
