Forget LGBTQ+ Activism: Displaying The Rainbow On T-Shirts Or Earrings Can Now Attract Penalties And Jail Time In Russia

In a recent development, Russian authorities have started penalizing citizens for displaying rainbow-colored items, marking the first known instances of enforcement under a court ruling that declared LGBTQ+ activism as extremism. At least three individuals have been fined or jailed for such displays.

What Happened: The Supreme Court ruling in November that banned the LGBTQ+ “movement” in Russia and labeled it as an extremist organization is now being enforced. This is part of an ongoing crackdown on LGBTQ+ individuals in a country where “traditional family values” are a key aspect of President Vladimir Putin‘s rule, according to a report by AP News.

In Saratov, a city southeast of Moscow, artist and photographer Inna Mosina was fined 1,500 rubles (approximately $16) for Instagram posts featuring rainbow flags. Despite Mosina’s claims that the posts were made before the ruling, the court ordered her to pay the fine.

Similarly, Anastasia Yershova was sentenced to five days in jail for wearing rainbow-colored earrings in public in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow. In Volgograd, south of Moscow, a man identified as Artyom P. was fined 1,000 rubles (about $11) for allegedly posting a rainbow flag on social media.

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Why It Matters: The crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia has been ongoing for over a decade, with laws prohibiting public displays of symbols of extremist organizations and warnings from LGBTQ+ rights advocates about potential targeting by authorities.

This recent enforcement of penalties is a continuation of Russia’s stringent policies against the LGBTQ+ community. In October 2022, a Russian court fined Amazon.com, Inc-owned Twitch streaming service and Chinese short-video app TikTok for not adhering to censorship regulations, including the refusal to remove content with LGBT propaganda among minors, as reported by Benzinga.

Furthermore, in July 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed a law prohibiting gender changes in the country, further marginalizing Russia's LGBTQ+ community, as per Benzinga.

Photo Created With Artificial Intelligence Via Dall-E

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