Society
How the Ukraine War Accelerated the Kremlin’s Campaign Against LGBTQ+ Visibility in Russia
June 16, 2025
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Rustam Alexander
Melbourne University and author of Red Closet: The Hidden History of Gay Oppression in the USSR
Historian Rustam Alexander looks how Russia has approached gay pride events since the end of the Soviet Union. Progress was always slow and stunted, but now homophobia has become de jure state policy as the Kremlin frames its war in Ukraine, among other things, as a moral crusade.
As Pride Month unfolds around the world, celebrating diversity and inclusion, the LGBTQ+ community in many countries continues to face severe repression and discrimination. One such country is Russia, where LGBTQ people are regarded as extremists, gay propaganda laws are in place and governmental crackdown on anything LGBTQ rolls on (a recent example is the so-called “publisher’s case,” in which three managers of Russia’s largest publisher, Eksmo, were arrested on charges of “LGBT propaganda and extremism”).
Given this repressive atmosphere, it is hard to believe that, as recently as three years ago, Western-style pride events were still possible in Russia. This changed abruptly with Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This is not to suggest, of course, that Russia had ever been particularly gay friendly – far from it. State-sanctioned homophobia had been on the rise since at least 2013. However, despite that, there were signs that Russia was still slowly accepting queer identity and expression.
This slow, stunted progress toward greater acceptance began in 1993, when the Russian parliament quietly eliminated the notorious Article 121.1, which criminalized consensual sex between men. This move happened thanks to persistent activism by newly emerging gay rights advocates, doctors (primarily HIV specialists) and legal experts who had argued for the law’s repeal for decades.
Paradoxically, this legal victory unwittingly slowed the momentum of the gay rights movement, however. Many in the community assumed that the removal of the oppressive law would bring about an immediate improvement in their lives.
Given this repressive atmosphere, it is hard to believe that, as recently as three years ago, Western-style pride events were still possible in Russia. This changed abruptly with Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This is not to suggest, of course, that Russia had ever been particularly gay friendly – far from it. State-sanctioned homophobia had been on the rise since at least 2013. However, despite that, there were signs that Russia was still slowly accepting queer identity and expression.
This slow, stunted progress toward greater acceptance began in 1993, when the Russian parliament quietly eliminated the notorious Article 121.1, which criminalized consensual sex between men. This move happened thanks to persistent activism by newly emerging gay rights advocates, doctors (primarily HIV specialists) and legal experts who had argued for the law’s repeal for decades.
Paradoxically, this legal victory unwittingly slowed the momentum of the gay rights movement, however. Many in the community assumed that the removal of the oppressive law would bring about an immediate improvement in their lives.
“Little did they know that decriminalizing consensual homosexual acts was only the beginning of the long struggle for social acceptance in Russian society.”
An antiwar, LGBT demonstration on Nevsky Prospect in St Petersburg in 2014. Source: Wiki Commons
It did not take long to realize that, even without the sodomy law, the Soviet-era legacy of homophobia, silence and stigmatization remained deeply entrenched in Russian society. A lot needed to be done to raise awareness and increase public acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in Russia.
Drawing inspiration from the West, Russian activists began attempting to hold pride events in Russia’s capital. However, from 2000 to 2006 the then-mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, flatly refused, claiming such events would offend people’s religious views and beliefs.
A queer rebellion in Russia’s heartland
Far from Moscow, in Yekaterinburg – Russia’s fourth-largest city – local entertainers and drag queens succeeded in organizing a “Love Parade.” Though it was not explicitly labelled a gay pride event, it featured all the hallmarks of a flamboyant queer extravaganza. In the city center, music blared while brightly decorated floats carried local drag stars and dancers who threw out flyers and condoms into dancing and cheering crowds.
Presented back then as a celebration of free love and music, these parades were the first and ultimately the last successful gay pride events in Russia, with a dedicated audience and resilient to attacks from the Church (the queer undertones were so unmistakable that the Church immediately denounced the event as “a parade of sodomites”). It is hard to believe, but these “love parades” in Yekaterinburg were approved by local authorities.
The success was due to a combination of factors. As the capital and seat of political power, Moscow was far more likely to attract international attention and direct scrutiny from national-level authorities and conservative groups.
Drawing inspiration from the West, Russian activists began attempting to hold pride events in Russia’s capital. However, from 2000 to 2006 the then-mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, flatly refused, claiming such events would offend people’s religious views and beliefs.
A queer rebellion in Russia’s heartland
Far from Moscow, in Yekaterinburg – Russia’s fourth-largest city – local entertainers and drag queens succeeded in organizing a “Love Parade.” Though it was not explicitly labelled a gay pride event, it featured all the hallmarks of a flamboyant queer extravaganza. In the city center, music blared while brightly decorated floats carried local drag stars and dancers who threw out flyers and condoms into dancing and cheering crowds.
Presented back then as a celebration of free love and music, these parades were the first and ultimately the last successful gay pride events in Russia, with a dedicated audience and resilient to attacks from the Church (the queer undertones were so unmistakable that the Church immediately denounced the event as “a parade of sodomites”). It is hard to believe, but these “love parades” in Yekaterinburg were approved by local authorities.
The success was due to a combination of factors. As the capital and seat of political power, Moscow was far more likely to attract international attention and direct scrutiny from national-level authorities and conservative groups.
“Yekaterinburg, by contrast, was a regional city that, at the time, was under less pressure to align with the preferences of Moscow decision-makers. LGBTQ issues had not yet been weaponized by the Kremlin, which allowed for more local discretion.”
In addition, Yekaterinburg had long enjoyed a reputation for being somewhat more open-minded than other Russian cities, with a nightlife scene that embraced drag performers and queer aesthetics. Nevertheless, as the gay pride events drew more public attention – along with mounting irritation from the Moscow authorities, particularly the Moscow mayor, the Yekaterinburg’s love parades were soon deemed politically undesirable and swiftly banned.
The crackdown intensifies
Embracing queer pride symbolism in Russia became much more dangerous and difficult after the government intensified its crackdown on LGBTQ+ communities. This was part of the Kremlin’s conservative shift with which it hoped simultaneously to consolidate majority support and alienate liberals and Westernizers in the country.
Following the 2013 “gay propaganda” law, taking to the streets with a rainbow flag came to be regarded as an act of protest against the government.
On the one hand, this new threat galvanized LGBTQ+ activists, providing fresh motivation to mobilize. On the other hand, it meant that the consequences for such activism were far more severe, with fines for spreading “propaganda” and harassment from homophobic Russians. Furthermore, the “gay propaganda” law made it much easier for authorities to deny requests to hold queer pride events. Undaunted, activists filed requests to hold gay pride events in Moscow and even attempted to organize them when their requests were denied, but to no avail.
However, once again, Yekaterinburg emerged as a beacon of hope, somewhat succeeding in overcoming the homophobia projected from the Kremlin. In September 2020, the city hosted Ural Pride Week, organized by a local organization called the LGBT Resource Center, during which activists from different parts of Russia held online discussions on bisexuality, asexuality, feminism and transgender issues. There were also offline meetings, and the festival guests attended closed nightclub events. The authorities did not intervene, but local conservative activists organized their own festival, in support of “traditional values.” Intended to overshadow Ural Pride Week, it only further boosted the visibility of Ural Pride Week.
The crackdown intensifies
Embracing queer pride symbolism in Russia became much more dangerous and difficult after the government intensified its crackdown on LGBTQ+ communities. This was part of the Kremlin’s conservative shift with which it hoped simultaneously to consolidate majority support and alienate liberals and Westernizers in the country.
Following the 2013 “gay propaganda” law, taking to the streets with a rainbow flag came to be regarded as an act of protest against the government.
On the one hand, this new threat galvanized LGBTQ+ activists, providing fresh motivation to mobilize. On the other hand, it meant that the consequences for such activism were far more severe, with fines for spreading “propaganda” and harassment from homophobic Russians. Furthermore, the “gay propaganda” law made it much easier for authorities to deny requests to hold queer pride events. Undaunted, activists filed requests to hold gay pride events in Moscow and even attempted to organize them when their requests were denied, but to no avail.
However, once again, Yekaterinburg emerged as a beacon of hope, somewhat succeeding in overcoming the homophobia projected from the Kremlin. In September 2020, the city hosted Ural Pride Week, organized by a local organization called the LGBT Resource Center, during which activists from different parts of Russia held online discussions on bisexuality, asexuality, feminism and transgender issues. There were also offline meetings, and the festival guests attended closed nightclub events. The authorities did not intervene, but local conservative activists organized their own festival, in support of “traditional values.” Intended to overshadow Ural Pride Week, it only further boosted the visibility of Ural Pride Week.
“Ural Pride Week was held again in 2021.”
The organizers again explained that the goal of the festival was “to remind citizens that everyone deserves respect regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, nationality, skin color or physical abilities.” Yekaterinburg’s big local news website E1 covered the festival positively and even interviewed its organizers in an effort to debunk myths and misconceptions surrounding the event.
However, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, homophobia became one of the ideological justifications for the war, with Russian officials and state media portraying it as a necessary defense against supposed Western “moral decay” and assault on “traditional values.”
The gay propaganda law was expanded, while recently the made-up “international LGBT movement” was officially designated an “extremist organization.” In this climate, events like Ural Pride Week are no longer possible, homophobia has become state policy and even nonpolitical gatherings, such as discreet gay parties, are now targeted and harassed by the authorities.
However, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, homophobia became one of the ideological justifications for the war, with Russian officials and state media portraying it as a necessary defense against supposed Western “moral decay” and assault on “traditional values.”
The gay propaganda law was expanded, while recently the made-up “international LGBT movement” was officially designated an “extremist organization.” In this climate, events like Ural Pride Week are no longer possible, homophobia has become state policy and even nonpolitical gatherings, such as discreet gay parties, are now targeted and harassed by the authorities.
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