{"id":78,"area":"Europe","region_name":"Russia","iso_2":"RU","region_sub":null,"legal_code_title":"Federal Law No. 135-FZ","legal_code_title_citation_1":"Text of the law is available at: http://www.threefold.ru/russian-laws-amended-federal-law-no-135-fz-amending-certain-laws-russian-federation-view-protect-children","legal_code_title_citation_2":null,"legal_code_body":"Federal Law No 135-FZ which prohibits the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors has been used to prosecute a range of people since it was enacted, including activists, websites and the media.","legal_code_body_citation_1":null,"legal_code_body_citation_2":null,"legal_code_body_citation_3":null,"legal_code_body_citation_4":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_1":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_2":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_3":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_4":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_5":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_6":null,"legal_code_scruff_comments":"LGBTI Travelers: Russian law bans providing \"the propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations\" to minors.  Foreign citizens face fines, up to 15 days in jail, and deportation. The law is vague as to what Russia considers propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations.\n• Discrimination based on sexual orientation is widespread in Russia. Acts of violence and harassment targeting LGBTI individuals occur.\n• Government officials have made derogatory comments about LGBTI persons.\n• Violence against the LGBTI community has increased sharply since the law banning propaganda was passed, including entrapment and torture of young gay men by neo-Nazi gangs and the murder of multiple individuals due to their sexual orientation.\n• There have been credible reports of arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killing of gay men in Chechnya allegedly conducted by Chechen regional authorities.  \nSee our [LGBTI](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/lgbti.html) page and section 6 of our Human Rights report for further details.\nHIV/AIDS Entry Restrictions: Some HIV/AIDS entry restrictions exist for visitors to and foreign residents of Russia. Applicants for longer-term tourist and work visas or residence permits are required to undergo an HIV/AIDS test. The Russian government may also ask these applicants to undergo tests for tuberculosis and leprosy. Travelers who believe they may be subject to these requirements should verify this information with the [Embassy of the Russian Federation](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/RussianFederation.html#ExternalPopup) .","prison_term_min_length":null,"prison_term_max_length":null,"prison_term_notes":null,"prison_term_not_specified":null,"prison_term_years":null,"prison_term_life":null,"prison_term_mandatory":null,"fine_min_amount":null,"fine_max_amount":null,"fine_currency":null,"fine_notes":null,"fine_not_specified":null,"fine_amount":null,"fine_mandatory":null,"penalty_death":false,"penalty_death_notes":null,"penalty_corporal_punishment":true,"penalty_corporal_punishment_notes":null,"penalty_hard_labor":null,"penalty_hard_labor_notes":null,"penalty_banishment":null,"legal_code_explicitly_references_same_sex_acts":true,"legal_code_explicitly_references_acts_against_nature":null,"legal_code_differentiates_anal_sex_from_other_acts":null,"legal_code_indicates_hiv_as_aggravating_factor":null,"legal_code_indicates_age_of_consent_homosexual_acts_over_18":null,"existing_laws_used_to_target_gays_but_not_anti_gay":null,"islamic_sharia_law":null,"islamic_sharia_law_notes":null,"laws_subregional_variance_or_contradiction":null,"laws_subregional_variance_or_contradiction_notes":null,"laws_not_specifically_homophobic":null,"laws_status_unclear":null,"laws_status_unclear_notes":null,"persecution_non_state_agents":null,"criminalization_under_consideration":null,"recently_decriminalized":null,"propaganda_law_under_consideration":null,"propaganda_law_title":"53 Federal Law No 50-FZ; ‘On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation with regard to limiting the spread of information about minors, victims of illegal actions (inaction)’, at Article 6.21 - Promotion of Non-Traditional Sexual Relations Among Minors","propaganda_law_title_citation_1":null,"propaganda_law_body":"Propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors, manifested in the distribution of information aimed at forming non-traditional sexual orientations, the attraction of non-traditional sexual relations, distorted conceptions of the social equality of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations among minors, or imposing information on non-traditional sexual relations which evoke interest in these kinds of relations – if these actions are not punishable under criminal law – will be subject to administrative fines: for private citizens in the amount of 4,000 – 5,000 rubles; for administrative officials, 40,000 – 50,000 rubles; for legal entities, 800,000 – 1,000,000 rubles or suspension of business activities for up to 90 days.\n\nActions covered under Part 1 of this article which are committed with the employment of the media and/or information and telecommunications networks (including Internet sites) – if these actions are not punishable under criminal law – will be subject to administrative fines: for citizens of 50,000 – 100,000 rubles; for administrative officials – 100,000 – 200,000 rubles; for legal entities – 1,000,000 rubles or suspension of business activities for up to 90 days.\n\nActions covered under Part 1 of this article which are committed by foreign citizens or stateless persons – if these actions are not punishable under criminal law – will result in an administrative fine of 4,000 – 5,000 rubles with administrative deportation from the Russian Federation or administrative arrest for up to 15 days with administrative deportation from the Russian Federation.\n\nActions covered under Part 1 of this article which are committed by foreign citizens or stateless persons with the employment of the media and/or information and telecommunications networks (including Internet sites), if these actions are not punishable under criminal law, will result in an administrative fine of 50,000 – 100,000 rubles with administrative deportation from the Russian Federation or administrative arrest for up to 15 days with administrative deportation from the Russian Federation. ‡","propaganda_law_body_citation_1":"‡ Obtained from http://www.sras.org/russia_gay_propaganda_law","propaganda_law_ilga_comments":"In addition to the 2013 law described above (Federal Law No. 50-FZ, later expanded to cover adults), the Supreme Court's 30 Nov. 2023 ruling designating the 'international LGBT movement' as 'extremist' created a parallel, more severe enforcement track under Russia's anti-extremism statutes (Federal Law No. 114-FZ, 2002; Penal Code Art. 282.2-adjacent extremism provisions). Documented enforcement since the ruling includes administrative fines/detention for displaying rainbow symbols and expanded website-blocking by the state media regulator Roskomnadzor. This does not itself criminalise private same-sex conduct but substantially restricts expression and association.","legal_developments_2023_2024_summary":"Russia has not explicitly criminalised private same-sex acts since 1993, but on 30 November 2023 the Supreme Court, acting on a Ministry of Justice lawsuit, categorised the 'international LGBT movement' as an 'extremist organisation' under the Federal Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity (Federal Law No. 114-FZ, 2002). Displaying LGBT-associated symbols (e.g. rainbow imagery) can now draw administrative fines/detention, and organising or financing related activity can draw up to 4 years' imprisonment under extremism statutes -- a substantially broader and more punitive framework than the pre-existing 2013 'gay propaganda' law.","legal_developments_2023_2024_citations":"ILGA World, Laws On Us: A Global Overview of Legal Progress and Backtracking on SOGIESC, 1st Ed. (Geneva, May 2024), p.90-93.","status_change_type":"Major escalation: 'international LGBT movement' designated extremist (separate from, and in addition to, the existing propaganda law)"}