Support Queer Siblings in Russia as Local LGBTQI Organisations Get Labeled as “Extremist”
Russia is cracking down again on LGBTQI rights by declaring leading LGBTQI organisations in the country as "extremist".
Over a week, we at IGLYO were contacted by two organisations which the Russian court plans to label as such on 24 February: our Member Coming Out, an organisation providing psychological support and legal advice to LGBTQI people in Russia, and the Russian LGBT Network, the largest interregional LGBTQI organisation in the country.
This malicious labelling endeavour adds yet another arrow to Russia’s quiver when it comes to attacking our rights, banning our support work, and erasing our identities from public discourse. After already declaring the so-called “international public LGBT movement” as “extremist” in 2023, this redoubling of their efforts puts the freedom and safety of many LGBTQI activists on the ground at risk by suffocating available support.
And yet, the message of our siblings on the ground remains loud and clear: they will keep on fighting no matter what. “Being labelled ‘extremist’ says more about the system than about us. Some even call it a mark of quality – evidence that the work truly matters. We will keep working. We will keep showing up. We will continue supporting queer people in Russia — no matter the label. And we will keep building support – together," stated our Member Coming Out.
What can you do?
To keep hope alive amidst these challenging times, organisations on the ground need your urgent support:
- Our Member Coming Out is running a crowdfunding campaign to help them pay lawyers on time, keep therapists available, protect their team, and answer all requests for help from Russian queer siblings.
- The Russian LGBT Network is also running a crowdfunding campaign to continue providing psychological, legal, and emergency support to those left face-to-face with violence and discrimination.
“Our organisation has always been built on mutual support, and today we ask you not to abandon your principles, ideals, and values. An organisation, its name, and its symbols can be banned, but mutual support, love, and people cannot,” stated Natalia Soloviova, Chair of the Russian LGBT Network in a press release.
As the situation worsens, we urge you to give visibility to their calls, send support to these organisations, and donate to the crowdfunding campaigns. Any contribution has a vital impact on the lives of LGBTQI siblings in Russia, sending them a strong message that we see them, we support them, and we will never let them down.
Stories from Queer Youth in Russia
The Russian LGBT Network kindly shared with us a few stories from queer young people in Russia:
Story 1
My coming out to my mom as transgender happened on a hill overlooking the beautiful fields of Kuban.
A warm, quiet summer evening and the terrifying tension and shaking, a lump in my throat, anger at myself. “I’m sorry, it’s hard for me to say this”, and then… acceptance. Support. A warm hand in mine, and the soft light of the sunset on the smiling face of someone I love. And then a whole starry night of realizing this joy and anticipating the changes ahead.
Thank you for everything, Mom. I love you.
— by an anonymous trans woman in Temryuk (Krasnodar Krai)
Story 2
For the first time, my boyfriend and I held hands in a gazebo in Komsomolsky Square, right across from Grozny-City. It was terrifying, but we were happy. And, symbolically, I asked my boyfriend to be in a relationship with me near the House of Press — by the Monument to Journalists Killed for Freedom of Speech.
It felt so unusual and so wonderful — the beginning of my very first relationship. And our first kiss was in Grozny too! Unthinkable. I never thought it would happen there. In the end, we’ve been together for five years now.
As long as we’re alive, there’s still hope for a better future. We will live to see freedom and the right to happiness. Everything will be okay, even in Grozny.
— by an anonymous cisgender homosexual man in Grozny, Chechnya
Story 3
We came to visit friends... or so we thought at the time. We had known them for 14 years. We are an openly gay couple; they are a straight married couple. In the period leading up to this incident, we had already noticed a change in how they treated us, but they kept insisting they still felt the same way about us.
A little later, their neighbors came over. The conversation turned to LGBTQ+ people, and someone said they should all be killed. I couldn’t listen to that, of course, and I spoke up. After that, several people attacked me and started beating me, shouting: “Beat the f****ts”.
— by an anonymous gay couple
Story 4
Discrimination shows up not only as physical violence or the violation of rights, but also in subtler, everyday forms: in words, in jokes, in the way society looks at us. When we live in constant fear, we start to accept discrimination as normal.
For example, my friends used to joke all the time that I’m gay. They thought it was funny, and I treated it as something completely normal. Even now, phrases like “You’re like a gay guy” or “That’s so gay” are still common in our society — and they carry a negative connotation.
That is discrimination, even when it’s said “as a joke”. When we grow up in that kind of environment, we stop noticing that “harmless jokes” are also a form of violence.
— by an anonymous cisgender homosexual man in Altai Krai
