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The State Duma adopted an "anti-gay law" banning propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors. On Tuesday, at a meeting of the State Duma, the bill was considered immediately in the second and third readings. 436 deputies approved the draft, one parliamentarian, by the way, preferred to abstain, Interfax reports.
The law amends the Federal Law "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development" and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in order to protect children from information that promotes the denial of traditional family values.
Sanctions for violating the new law are still only administrative, in particular, fines for promoting non-traditional sexual relations among minors.
A fine of 4,000 to 5,000 rubles is set for violators, from 40,000 to 50,000 rubles for officials, and from 800,000 to 1 million rubles for legal entities. Also, a violation may entail an administrative suspension of the activities of legal entities for up to 90 days, RIA Novosti reports.
However, propaganda using the media or the Internet will be punished much more severely. The fine for citizens will be from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles, for officials - from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles, and for legal entities - one million rubles. Suspension of activities - also three months. Foreigners, by the way, will have it even worse - they will be expelled from the country or arrested for 15 days for a similar crime.
It is also curious to note what the word propaganda implies and what activities fall into this category. According to the adopted law, propaganda can be expressed "in the dissemination of information aimed at the formation of non-traditional sexual attitudes among minors." It is also considered propaganda: "The dissemination of information about the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations, a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations, or the imposition of information about non-traditional sexual relations that arouses interest in such relationships."
The bill passed its first reading in January 2013. An updated version of this document was prepared for Tuesday's double readings, taking into account the comments of hundreds of thousands of citizens, including 25,000 opponents of the law. The discussion of the bill took place against the backdrop of clashes between supporters and opponents of the "anti-gay law" under the walls of the lower house, 20 people were detained.
Supporters of the "anti-gay law" rejoiced and lifted Deputy Ageev into the air
The new bill has a lot of supporters. After the adoption of the law in the third reading, the deputies decided to communicate with the people supporting them. On Okhotny Ryad Street, in front of the State Duma building, the deputies were greeted with thunderous applause and bravos of approval.
Deputies Elena Mizulina and Alexander Ageev left the Duma. Joyful supporters of the law picked up the latter and began to swing in their arms. Ageev was thrown into the air several times, shouting "bravo", and then returned to the ground.
Also, the adoption of the law was commented on by United Russia, State Duma Vice Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak. "During the consideration the bill was supported by all factions of the State Duma. Only Ilya Ponomarev abstained from voting. Dmitry Gudkov refused to vote. Draw your own conclusions," he hinted.
“The values that are key to society are very important in the country - Motherland, family, friendship, respect for loved ones. I think there is information that adults can know, but it is not necessary to stuff children with it. It can negatively affect their psyche, health, perception of life around," concluded Zheleznyak.
Human rights activists from HRW urged Russia to abandon the discriminatory law
Human rights activists of the LGBT movement from Human Rights Watch (HRW) have already condemned the adopted law and called on Russia to abandon the "anti-gay bill".
“Russia is diligently trying to give discrimination a dignified appearance, covering it up with the word ‘tradition’. However, no matter what terminology is used in this document, it is discriminatory and violates the fundamental rights of representatives of the LGBT movement,” the widespread organizing a statement by Graham Reed, who oversees the Human Rights Watch program to protect the rights of representatives of sexual minorities.
According to Reed, "trying to single out members of the LGBT movement as 'non-traditional people' is an attempt to belittle their human dignity." "This is cynical and dangerous," the human rights activist stressed.
Russian human rights activists fear "stupid" application of the law
Russian specialists fear that the law may be applied more widely than it should. For example, Vladimir Lukin, Ombudsman for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, told Interfax that he was afraid of the "stupid" application of the ban on propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.
"The main problem will be in law enforcement. Harsh and stupid law enforcement can lead to human casualties and human tragedies," Lukin said.
"People who prepare and try to push through such laws may or may not be aware of the fact that the creation of a halo of sacrifice is one of the most effective forms of advertising," the Ombudsman added.
“What and when it is possible, what cannot be communicated to children sexually is a complex and important problem. To be honest, everything is not clear to me so far. This problem should be solved without direct connection with specific types of sexual preferences. It should be solved in general in the context of the child's entry into this delicate and intimate issue. I do not approve of separate laws on persons who are included in the abbreviation LGBT," Lukin concluded.
The State Duma adopted a law on the protection of the feelings of believers
The last meeting of the State Duma turned out to be very fruitful. In addition to the "anti-gay law" in the final reading, the law on counteracting insulting the feelings of believers was also adopted.
The law, which was amended after the second reading, expands the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Obstruction of the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and religion." Sanctions were introduced for "public actions expressing clear disrespect for society and committed in order to offend the religious feelings of believers."
The law provides for punishment for violators in the form of a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles or the salary of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or compulsory work for a maximum period of up to 240 hours, or forced labor for a period of up to one year. The maximum penalty for violating the article is imprisonment for up to one year.
The bill on the prohibition of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors was adopted in the final reading. The fine for violating the law will be 4-5 thousand rubles for a private person and up to 1 million for a legal entity.
Moscow. June 11th. website - The State Duma adopted in the second and immediately in the third, final reading a law on fines for promoting non-traditional sexual relations among minors.
The law amends the Federal Law "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development" and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in order to protect children from information that promotes the denial of traditional family values.
The law provides for administrative fines for propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors, "expressed in the dissemination of information aimed at the formation of non-traditional sexual attitudes among minors, the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations, a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations, or the imposition of information about non-traditional sexual relations arousing interest in such relationships.
If these actions do not contain a criminally punishable act, the law establishes penalties for them in the form of an administrative fine for citizens in the amount of 4,000 to 5,000 rubles, for officials from 40,000 to 50,000 rubles, for legal persons from 800 thousand to 1 million rubles, or an administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
If these actions are committed using the media or information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, citizens face a fine in the amount of 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles, officials from 100 thousand to 200 thousand rubles, legal entities in the form of 1 million rubles, or an administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
If the same actions are committed by a foreign citizen or a stateless person, the law establishes a penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 4,000 to 5,000 rubles with administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation, or administrative arrest for up to 15 days, also with administrative expulsion from Russia.
If a foreign citizen has committed these actions using the media or the Internet, he faces a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 rubles with administrative expulsion from Russia, or administrative arrest for up to 15 days with administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation.
It is expected that this law will come into force from the day of its official publication.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia's Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin noted that the bill had undergone some positive changes, but claims against it remained. "People who are preparing and trying to push through such laws may or may not be aware of the fact that creating a halo of sacrifice is one of the most effective forms of advertising," the ombudsman said. “What and when it is possible, what cannot be communicated to children sexually is a complex and important problem. To be honest, everything is not clear to me so far. This problem should be solved without direct connection with specific types of sexual preferences. It should be solved in general in the context of the child's entry into this delicate and intimate issue. I do not approve of separate laws on persons who are included in the abbreviation LGBT, "Lukin said.
He added that he feared the "foolish" application of the law banning the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations. "The main problem will be in law enforcement. Tough and stupid law enforcement can lead to human casualties and human tragedies," Lukin told Interfax on Tuesday.
On the eve of the adoption of the bill, human rights activists from the international organization Human Rights Watch turned to the Russian authorities with a call to abandon it. “Russia is diligently trying to give discrimination a dignified appearance, covering it up with the word ‘tradition’. However, no matter what terminology is used in this document, it is discriminatory and violates the fundamental rights of representatives of the LGBT movement,” the widespread organizing a statement by Graham Reed, who oversees the Human Rights Watch program to protect the rights of representatives of the LGBT movement. "Trying to single out representatives of the LGBT movement as 'non-traditional people' is an attempt to belittle their human dignity. This is cynical and dangerous," Reed said.
The Russians themselves, on the contrary, for the most part, support the ban on propaganda of homosexuality. As a survey of sociologists by VTsIOM showed, in recent years the attitude towards homosexuality in Russian society has become more intolerant, and the proportion of opponents of same-sex marriage has increased significantly. According to their data, at present the vast majority of Russians support the introduction of a ban on the promotion of homosexuality in the country (88%, in 2012 - 86%). Opponents of this initiative - 7%.
The relative majority of Russians today believe that non-traditional sexual orientation should be criminalized (42%), back in 2007 there were only 19% of such people. A quarter of the respondents (25%) are sure that homosexuality should be the subject of public censure (in 2007 - 18%). There are also a few more those who propose punishment in the form of a fine (from 12% to 15%), and, on the contrary, there are fewer of those who believe that the state and society should not interfere, because. this is a private matter for each person (from 34% in 2007 to 15% this year).
The survey was conducted on June 8-9 in 134 settlements in 42 regions, territories and republics of Russia with the participation of 1,600 people.
Meanwhile, protesters are gathering at the walls of the Duma, where a vote is currently being held for a law banning gay propaganda among children, as well as against a law on protecting the religious feelings of believers. In addition, according to the Ekho Moskvy radio station, LGBT activists also came to the Duma and tried to hold their "Kissing Day" action against homophobia.
At the moment, about 20 people have already been detained in an attempt to carry out an unauthorized action.
As Interfax was told in the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow, the detainees are being taken to the police department to resolve the issue of bringing to administrative responsibility.
Most people tend to have their own opinion regarding the reality around them in all the variety of events, phenomena and the accepted order of things. The views of each individual are formed on the basis of personal life experience, which is obtained after the events and decisions made, as well as on the basis of a variety of worldviews, perceived from other people through books, media and communication in various groups.
Such formation of an opinion is natural and subjective, that is, formed by each individual individually, but it is also possible to artificially impose a certain ideology, opinions and views through propaganda.
Systematic, that is, repeated on a regular basis, the impact on people, both individually taken and united in various groups and communities, in order to form certain views and value systems, is propaganda. The specificity of propaganda lies in the fact that the formed position of a person is not necessarily objective, but the information presented is reliable and useful for the development of the individual.
The repeated repetition of the same point of view, justified by the simplest arguments comparable to the basic attitudes of most people, makes it possible to make the promoted theses as plausible as possible. And with an increase in the contingent that perceives information as reliable, any statement becomes the opinion of the majority
Thus, it is possible to make any idea, denounced in the simplest messages, generally accepted, and therefore characterize normal behavior and perception of reality. Those individuals who, due to greater awareness or ability to think analytically, will not accept the generally accepted concept, will become outcasts and will be considered as having a deviation from normal behavior.
That is how the leaders of the National Socialist Party of Germany, on the cultivation of the idea of national superiority, managed to make a militaristic state out of a civilized German society, perceiving the rest of the world's population as second-class people. The consequences of such propaganda are well known.
Multiple, often reasoned repetition of various statements is an integral part of human life, this happens continuously, with the help of the media, through outdoor advertising, through a variety of lectures and seminars, as well as in the scope of educational programs in educational institutions. The formation of a certain worldview is beneficial to many participants in civil relations, including the ruling strata, sellers of goods and services, religious and national activists, and many other entities, the list of which is endless.
Such phenomena are perceived by society as a norm if they are socially useful, that is, they form in people the right attitude towards life and priorities, as well as the behavior and structure of the consumed products of vital activity of other participants in civil relations. If the propagated attitudes call for actions, behavior or way of thinking that is dangerous for the person himself and / or the people around him, then such propaganda should be recognized as criminal, since the potential consequence of its impact is the commission of illegal and threatening actions to society.
According to the logic of things, a call for any action that is unusual for the accepted social system, the principles of morality and morality, as well as threatening the life, health or other well-being of people should be classified as illegal propaganda. However, logic is not always inherent in human nature, and what was considered obscene yesterday (for example, a miniskirt) is now becoming the norm of behavior thanks to advertising and "authoritative" media statements.
In this regard, illegal should be understood as propaganda, which is classified as an illegal act by one of the legislative acts of the state.
The theory of the superiority of one of the races or nationalities is perhaps one of the most promoted, turning into an idea that unites people who consider themselves genetically superior or worthy, compared to all others or certain social communities.
It is the propaganda of such views that causes some people to be humiliated by others on the basis of skin color or nationality, and in most cases hostility, like nationalism or racism, is mutual, that is, characteristic of both sides of the conflict.
Read more about whether propaganda of religion or atheism is prohibited in Russia (RF).
The history of the origin of life on planet Earth for many years has been the main reason for numerous studies and disputes between scientists and theologians, some of whom are looking for natural causes and ways of the origin of the mind, and the latter are confident in the divine creation. Both positions have a lot of supporters and evidence of their legitimacy, however, the choice of religion and belief in anything in general is the prerogative of each person and it is forbidden to exert a targeted influence on him in the form of propaganda in a civilized society.
Western human rights activists take the present doctrine to the point of absurdity by seeking a ban on baptism of children in infancy when they are incapacitated and cannot exercise their freedom of choice of faith.
The following video will tell you more about the prohibited propaganda of religion:
Any civilized society is primarily called upon to take care of the health of its members, which ensures population growth, its physical and intellectual usefulness, guaranteeing the progressive development of society, the state and humanity as a whole, if considered on a global scale. Due to the above factors and drugs, as well as alcohol and tobacco products, it cannot be considered useful, as it leads to the degradation of people, reduces their life expectancy and leads to the birth of offspring with signs of regression, compared with the basic characteristics of the parents.
The inadmissibility of reducing the intellectual and physical potential of the population has become the reason for the prohibition of the promotion of the use of alcohol and tobacco products in most civilized countries, and drug addiction in general is a criminal offense, since it causes all of the above consequences much faster and more often causes deaths.
Same-sex relationships have recently become the norm of behavior in many European countries and on the North American continent, despite the social danger of this phenomenon, since only relations between a man and a woman are reproductive. In addition to the decline in the birth rate due to same-sex marriages, the problem of society, in the future, may be the distortion of the value system of children raised in such families.
Propaganda of homosexuality and lesbian relationships in our country is not allowed, nevertheless, gay parades are held in the capital and other large cities, and films and video products demonstrating such relationships are not prohibited from being shown on television and in the cinema. Therefore, there is no need to talk about a state veto on the promotion of same-sex sexual relations.
About whether there is an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for promoting suicide, read on.
Posner will tell you more about the prohibition of propaganda of same-sex relationships:
The peculiar worldview of some people who believe that life is only a transitional stage between rebirths, which can be accelerated if the existence is interrupted before the allotted time, leads to the cultivation of a suicidal cult by them. Such views, which are mainly characteristic of teenagers or people who have experienced serious psychological upheavals and losses, are unacceptable in a philanthropic society where every life is valuable.
Calls to commit suicide and the imposition of a worldview that considers such behavior the norm are unacceptable, and in some religions, such as Catholicism, are considered a mortal sin.
Despite the social danger of violent acts and mistreatment of people among themselves, such behavior is indirectly, and sometimes directly, cultivated in many examples of film and video production. Such works of fiction and documentary cinematography also give a romantic undertone, idealizing subjects who cause suffering to people for their own pleasure or profit. More cruel and bloody examples of cinema, containing scenes of outright cruelty, bullying, torture, and other similar acts are banned in all civilized countries.
Introducing teenagers to modern film production, which demonstrates, for the most part, scenes of violence and cruelty, can lead to a distortion of the psyche and the substitution of moral values. The consequence of such changes in the psyche is the manifestation of cruelty towards others, leading to crimes, for example,.
Read more about why war propaganda is prohibited.
Military confrontations and acts of violence, accompanied by massacres as a result, are the most dangerous phenomena, accompanied by the death of a large number of people, the loss of material and cultural values, as well as dividing people's communities. Calls for such actions or propaganda of such actions as norms of behavior are unacceptable and criminal, since they unequivocally lead to death, suffering and degradation of a civilized person.
The following video will tell about the consequences of propaganda of a terrorist organization:
About which articles of the Criminal Code are responsible for the propaganda of terrorism, war, violence, cruelty and other types of it, read on.
Depending on the severity of the crimes, liability can be administrative or criminal, and the punishment is determined by the circumstances of the incident and the presence of aggravating circumstances.
And let's start by looking at which article is responsible for promoting drugs.
For foreigners or stateless entities, part 2 of article 6.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation regulates expulsion from the country, preceded by a fine of 4-5 thousand rubles or arrest for 15 days.
Read the next section about which article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is responsible for promoting homosexuality, lesbian and other non-traditional relationships.
Non-traditional sexual relationships are persecuted if their propaganda is carried out among minors and is aimed at distorting ideas about their equivalence with heterosexual relationships, as well as forming an image of the attractiveness of such relationships. Punishment for citizens of the Russian Federation is provided for in Part 1 of Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which establishes fines for:
The use of the media and the Internet increases the fines, which, according to part 2 of article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, for the listed categories of citizens are: 50 - 100, 100 - 200 and 1000 thousand rubles, respectively.
Foreign citizenship or its absence refers the perpetrator to the disposition of Part 3 of Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which regulates the deportation of the perpetrator, who must first pay a fine of 4-5 thousand rubles or serve 15 days. If this subject used the media or the Internet for propaganda, then in accordance with Part 4 of Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the amount of the monetary penalty increases to 50 - 100 thousand rubles.
About which article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is responsible for the propaganda of fascism, Nazism, nationalism, swastikas, etc., we will tell further.
Propaganda of Nazi or other comparable symbols, along with its demonstration in public, is prosecuted in accordance with Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, which declares:
The manufacture and sale of such products is considered in Part 2 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, which toughens the fines imposed on these entities to: 1 - 2.5; 2 - 5 and 20 - 100 thousand rubles, respectively.
Criminal liability for propaganda of hatred or enmity against persons of a different race, gender, nationality, language group or religious beliefs, as well as their humiliation, is punishable under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes the choice of court:
The Constitutional Court made clarification about the scandalous law on the ban on the dissemination of information to minors that promotes non-traditional sexual relations (the common name is “the law on the prohibition of propaganda of homosexuality”). The reason for the clarification was the appeal to the Constitutional Court of LGBT activists Nikolai Alekseev, Yaroslav Yevtushenko and Dmitry Isakov: in accordance with this law, they were found guilty of an offense for holding public events. The law introduced into the Code of Administrative Offenses - « Promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors”, involving a fine of four to five thousand rubles. Alekseev and Yevtushenko were the first in the country convicted under this law - for single-person pickets in front of the children's library in Arkhangelsk with a poster "There is no gay propaganda. Gays are not made, gays are born!"(The Arkhangelsk region was one of the first regions where this law was adopted even before the consideration in the Duma). Isakov, who held a one-man picket in Kazan, received his fine due to the fact that a teenager from Arkhangelsk, Eric Fedoseev, read about this picket in Internet and wrote a statement to the police.All three activists filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights.
The Constitutional Court considered the law and the article introduced in the Code of Administrative Offenses not contradicting the Constitution. But in addition, the judge of the Constitutional Court Nikolai Bondar, commenting on the position of the court, stated that the article “does not preventimpartial public discussion of the legal status of sexual minorities, including through holding public events in the manner prescribed by law. However, minors should not be involved in relevant activities, and the information disseminated should not be directed at them.».
Nikolai Alekseev, one of the most active figures in the Moscow LGBT movement, has already name this clarification by the COP is a major breakthrough in the fight for LGBT rights. Natalya Tsymbalova, coordinator of the Alliance of Heterosexuals for LGBT Equality, agrees with him: “The decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation seems to me to be a very important milestone in the struggle for the right to freedom of assembly of the LGBT community" she said, but added that "ideally, the court should have recognized the notorious "gay propaganda" law as unconstitutional", but agreed that "no one expected such a demarche from him in the current political situation, of course". However, according to her, what is important is that “the court forbade broadly interpreting the law, which is often done by various political schemers and homophobes. Now it is explicitly stated that the law cannot be the basis for a ban on public actions, discussions and other events in defense of the rights of LGBT people.».
Nevertheless, Tsymbalova, who has extensive experience in holding actions in defense of LGBT people and in negotiations with the St. Petersburg administration, noted that “practice Petersburg is such that our rights to freedom of assembly are often violated by the authorities not at all on the basis of the “gay propaganda” law. In St. Petersburg, this law was rarely applied; here, much more often, officials come up with various other loopholes in order to refuse to approve shares. For example, in February 2013, with the support of the “Democratic Petersburg” coalition, we tried to organize a rally against the law on “gay propaganda”, which was then still a bill and was considered in the next reading by the State Duma. The authorities refused to give us permission to hold this rally in 20 (twenty!) different places, coming up with a variety of excuses (such as repair work, the proximity of court buildings, the fact that we would allegedly interfere with passers-by and similar fictions). It is obvious that the ban on the rally was a political decision, but the law on propaganda did not appear in the denials.».
Another St. Petersburg activist, gender researcher Valery Sozaev, in a conversation with OVD-Info, also noted that, despite what the Constitutional Court says, “there is real practice on the ground". He stated that in addition to banning protests, some government officials are resorting to a frank provocation to disrupt the LGBT event: for example, Vitaly Milonov, a deputy of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, known for his fierce fight against LGBT people, and his assistant Anatoly Artyukh "they constantly bring minors to our actions for the purpose of provocation. Milonov comes with his own children to the actions of LGBT activists, thus provoking law enforcement officers, the police to stop these actions". Sozaev suspects that law enforcement practice will change little with the advent of the Constitutional Court’s clarification: “There were decisions of the Constitutional Court concerning regional laws - Arkhangelsk, St. Petersburg, Kostroma. LGBT activists use these regulations, but there is no sense from this either».
Almost simultaneously with the appearance of the clarification of the Constitutional Court, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe paid attention to LGBT actions in Russian cities, which condemned Russia for non-execution of the verdicts of the ECtHR. Committee members “expressed serious concern that most of the notifications filed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kostroma and Arkhangelsk from July 1, 2013 to May 1, 2014, to hold public events… were denied on the basis of a federal law prohibiting “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors, despite assurances from the Russian authorities at the 1179th meeting (September 2013 year) (Human Rights) that this federal law does not interfere with the conduct of such events. In this regard, the Committee called on the Russian authorities to provide “updated information, including statistical data, on the current practice regarding the organization of public events… from 1 May 2014 to 1 February 2015”. The Committee “noted with great regret that the exercise of the fundamental right to assemble is insufficiently recognized and protected by the Russian authorities” and demanded that the necessary measures, “including of an educational nature”, be taken to remedy the situation.
Tsymbalova noted that "The Council of Europe cares much more about the observance of the rights of Russian citizens than those state structures in Russia that are actually called upon to protect these rights. While Russia has not yet left the Council of Europe (which is very likely in the current situation), the Council of Europe and its judicial system, represented by the ECHR, remain in fact the only instance where we can appeal in the hope of finding protection from the arbitrariness of the authorities". According to Sozaev,The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe always expresses serious concern - this, unfortunately, is the only opportunity on their part to do something. And it is clear why - lawyers in the Council of Europe do not understand what propaganda of homosexuality is, how one can propagandize someone to become a homosexual person».
Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses is still used quite rarely in the wake of past actions. In Moscow, for the first time, the prosecution under this article was presented last year to LGBT activist Aleksey Davydov,detained during a picket near the building of the Russian State Children's Library with a poster "Being gay is normal", and five other people detained with him (this was the only case of accusation under this article noted by OVD-Info in Moscow during the year).
In this context, it was unprecedented solution justice of the peace of court district No. 423 of the Tverskoy district of Moscowon the payment of compensation to LGBT activist Irina Fedotova (Fet), who was sentenced to a fine for a solitary picket against the law of the Ryazan region on “propaganda of homosexuality”, adopted back in 2006.
Activities in defense of the rights of LGBT people often become a reason for detention even without the application of the relevant article: OVD-Info , in 2013 in Moscow, the relative number of events on this topic at which arrests occur is 7.1% (in 2012 - 0.9%), the number of arrests at them is 11.4% (in 2012 - 1.2%). The average number of arrests per LGBT event in 2013 is 13.9. In St. Petersburg during the same period, the proportion of those detained at LGBT events out of the total number of those detained at mass events was 12.1%, the number of LGBT events with detentions itself is 7.1% of the total. The average number of arrests per LGBT event in St. Petersburg is 18.7.
Much more often, the article is used by regional authorities to refuse to approve events. Not later than October 1, the Moscow authorities banned holding an LGBT march for a hundred people, as "information contained in the text of the notification about holding a public eventgives reason to believe that the goals of the planned march violate the prohibitions provided for by federal lawsArticle 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation» ; “Holding a public event by this group of citizens in places open to free access will cause moral harm to children and adolescents who have become unwitting witnesses to them, offend religious and moral feelings, humiliate the human dignity of other citizens, violate their rights and freedoms, which will cause a negative reaction from society and may provoke illegal actions on the part of persons who do not share the views of their participants”; and besides, holding a procession “will interfere with the movement of pedestrians, violate the rights of citizens who are not participating in it».
In Moscow, the bans on such events were actually a response to the campaign to protect freedom of assembly, which was launched by LGBT activists after the adoption of the law. Activists filed notices of events with the aim of “expressing the opinion of the LGBT community in defense of the heart of the journalist of the Rossiya-1 TV channel Dmitry Kiselev from burning and burying in the ground”, “disseminating objective scientific data on homosexual relations in the animal world in the society”, “ speeches of the LGBT community in support of raising pensions for citizens of the Russian Federation", "oppositions against the exploitation of homosexual deer by Santa Claus in Western countries", "options against discrimination against blue fir trees on New Year's Eve", "speech by gays and lesbians against global warming in the territory of the Russian Federation ” and even “expressions of support and a call to follow the statements of the President of Russia V.V. Putin on non-discrimination of athletes and spectators of the Olympic Games in Sochi on the basis of nationality, race and sexual orientation, pronounced on October 28, 2013.” A march of bearded women and men named after Conchita Wurst was planned. All these notifications were rejected, the activists appealed against them in courts and, after the bans were recognized as legal, they sent complaints to the ECHR (some events, the bans on which were recognized as legal by the Moscow City Court, are listed on the GayRussia website). However, not all the announced topics of the events sound as absurd as those listed above - for example, on September 27, activists of the Moscow Gay Pride appealed to the ECHR a ban on holding a rally in support of the legislative tightening of punishment for hate crimes against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people . Activists in Kostroma and Arkhangelsk act in a similar way. Particular attention of LGBT activists was riveted to the Olympics as the main international event in Russia after the adoption of the law. The gay parade in Sochi was banned for the same reason. After March 2014, the law came into effect in Crimea, and gay parades were banned in Simferopol and Sevastopol.
An interesting story happened with the approval of LGBT actions in Kostroma in June. June 1 Gay March Was Immediately Deniedin connection with the celebrations in the city of Children's Day.The procession, scheduled for June 2, unexpectedly agreed (however, not in the place where the organizers wanted), but later the agreement was withdrawn due to accident sewerage. After lengthy litigation, Nikolai Alekseev managed to achieve recognition both denials are illegal.
The Propaganda Law was also used to suppress activities such as this happened in St. Petersburg on June 29, 2013 on the territory of the “Hyde Park” on the Field of Mars, where the “LGBT Pride” was to take place: the chairman of the organizing committee was informed that, based on some complaints from citizens who saw “propaganda of homosexuality” in the posters of the participants, the decision was handed over to the police to stop the action, after which the police began to detain people. A total of 54 people were detained. A similar event in 2014 was peaceful, but one activist was detained for a poster in which representatives of the local legality committee saw propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation.
Some LGBT activists, guided by the established legislative and law enforcement practice, prefer to move away from symbols and even words that are directly related to LGBT topics when holding events. As told by OVD-Infohead of the Murmansk LGBT organizations"Maximum Center" Sergey Alekseenko, recently all their public events "have been organized so that there are not even words with the root "homo-" or "LGBT". We try to avoid these words so that we are not accused of violating this law". "We have not had a single refusal, but we do not declare actions specifically as LGBT, we often submit notifications for actions against xenophobia in society in general, and not just against homophobia," Alekseenko says. "We do not go out with rainbow flags , we do not go out with some harsh slogans, as they do in St. Petersburg and Moscow, especially ultra activists. We are moderate. We are not trying to make a provocation, we want people to see and think once again.” According to him, usually the authorities do not refuse them to hold an event. The flash mob on May 17 in one of the Hyde parks in Murmansk was thwarted, but, as Alekseenko believes, “it was a whim of the head of the district administration, on whose territory Hyde Park is located, who said that Hyde parks are in America, and here is a platform for normal people - get out, they say. Despite the fact that events in Hyde Parks do not require notification, LGBT activists in Murmansk still submit notifications, since in such cases the administration is obliged to provide security. “If we don't file a notification, we have to provide security ourselves,” Alekseenko explains. - But who knows - one person can come with a rotten egg, or maybe a crowd. I would not want any injuries from either side. We try to protect ourselves and the people who come to our actions.”
The law on the prohibition of propaganda among minors of "non-traditional sexual relations" has been repeatedly used to prosecute specific people without any connection with public street events. In the Khabarovsk Territory, to a fine of 50 thousand rubles was sentenced Alexander Suturin, editor-in-chief of the local newspaper Molodoy Dalnevostochnik, for publishing an interview with geography teacher Alexander Ermoshkin, who was fired from his job for LGBT activism. Suturin was accused of violating part 2 of article 6.21 - on propaganda through the media, which already entails a much larger fine than participation in the event. In May of this year it was charged Murmansk activist Violetta Grudina due to the fact that minors were found in the Maximum Center group on the VKontakte social network, of which she is one of the administrators.
In addition, Elena Klimova, a journalist from Nizhny Tagil,the author of the project "Children-404" about homosexual teenagers, was accused of creating in the social network "VKontakte" "page promoting non-traditional sexual relations". Vitaly Milonov, a St. Petersburg deputy, filed a complaint about the offense. However, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Nizhny Tagil stopped proceedings in connection with the fact that the administrative protocol against Klimova was drawn up with violations.
In addition to the fact that LGBT activists are prosecuted both judicially and extrajudicially, the authorities often do not meet their halfway in investigating crimes. So, in Voronezh the court did not satisfy a statement about police inaction filed by activists Pavel Lebedev and Andrey Nasonov, who suffered as a result of an attack on an LGBT picket. And Nikolai Alekseev, who was attacked in Kostroma, was denied a criminal case.
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two high-profile laws on Sunday, June 30, banning gay propaganda among children and protecting the feelings of believers.
"Propaganda of non-traditional sexual attitudes"
The law “On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development” signed by the president formally amends the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations is defined by the law as “the dissemination of information aimed at forming non-traditional sexual attitudes among minors, the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations, a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations, or the imposition of information about non-traditional sexual relations that arouses interest in such relationships.”
For the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors, the Russian authorities will be punished with fines of up to 5 thousand rubles for citizens, officials will be punished with fines of up to 50 thousand rubles, and legal entities with a fine of up to 1 million rubles or suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
Such acts committed through the media and the Internet will be punishable by fines for citizens up to 100 thousand rubles, for officials up to 200 thousand rubles and up to 1 million rubles for legal entities or suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
Foreign citizens for promoting non-traditional sexual relations will be punished with a fine, as well as administrative arrest for up to 15 days, followed by deportation from Russia. If a foreigner uses the media or the Internet to promote homosexuality, the law provides for a fine of up to 100 thousand rubles with arrest and deportation.
Russian LGBT activist Nikolai Alekseev believes that by signing the law, which is actually directly directed against sexual minorities in Russia, Putin made a big mistake.
“In Russia, a very homophobic population supports such measures. But this law is Putin's historical mistake. All over the civilized world, the rights of sexual minorities are recognized, and the LGBT community is equalized in rights, while Russia is going in a completely opposite direction,” Alekseev told the Voice of America Russian Service.
According to the human rights activist, the new anti-LGBT law fits into Putin's populist conservatism strategy to attract the attention of an uneducated provincial electorate.
“The wave of conservatism is aimed at escalating the fight against the West and the values of the West. At present, the Russian state ideology is built not only on confrontation with the West, but also on Orthodoxy and religion. Laws, including another signed law on the protection of the feelings of believers, fit into what religious organizations dictate,” Alekseev said.
The LGBT activist believes that the new law will not be applied frequently, much less massively.
“But the law will be used to prohibit the registration of LGBT organizations, to prohibit the jurisprudence of public events ... That is, to remove a certain group of people from public space,” Alekseev concluded.
Responsibility for “insulting the feelings of believers”
The second bill, signed by Putin on Sunday, criminalizes insulting the feelings of believers.
In particular, persons holding public events “in order to insult the religious feelings of believers” will be punished with a fine of up to 300,000 rubles, or compulsory labor for up to 240 hours, or forced labor for up to one year, or imprisonment for the same term.
A fine of up to 500 thousand rubles or compulsory labor for up to 480 hours, or forced labor for up to three years or imprisonment for the same period awaits those who commit a public event that offends the feelings of believers in places “specially designed for worship religious rites and ceremonies.
The law provides for an even more severe punishment in the event that the act is completely using the official position, or with the use or threat of violence - up to 1 year in prison with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions and engage in certain activities for up to two years.
You can get acquainted with the full list of sanctions that the law introduces on the Russian portal of legal information.
Human rights activist, director of the Sova information and analytical center Alexander Verkhovsky believes that the law on the protection of religious feelings can give rise to many repressions.
“There are many religious figures in Russia who, speaking on behalf of any religious group or against a particular religious movement, can hurt or offend each other. In the course of many discussions, these grievances are inevitable,” the expert told the Voice of America Russian Service.
According to Verkhovsky, the trouble is that many of these religious leaders strive to write complaints to the prosecutor's office and other supervisory bodies.
“As a rule, the prosecutor's office does not satisfy these complaints. Now, when a new corpus delicti appears, prosecutors, in my opinion, will more often satisfy the complaints of certain figures. As a result, we will get a lot of criminal cases against various people,” Verkhovsky said.
“In any case, all these cases are absolutely meaningless. I see no benefit in this kind of law enforcement activity. However, this is inevitable, because now we have a law and criminal sanctions,” the expert concluded.
New conservatism
Political scientist, professor at the Higher School of Economics Mikhail Polyakov says that the wave of new Russian conservatism, manifested in the adoption of laws against sexual minorities and the protection of the religious feelings of believers, is the government's response to specific events.
“This is a defensive reaction... The law on the protection of the feelings of believers has undergone a significant revision. Unlike what we had in the first draft of the bill, the sanctions are significantly reduced and it is clearly stated that the feelings of atheists are also protected. Items and symbols of value to various religious groups will also be protected from insult. I would take this law out of the discussion about whether it is conservative or not,” the political scientist believes.
According to Polyakov, the new law responds to cases such as acts of vandalism against the eternal flame and performances by the punk band Pussy Riot in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
The political scientist still refers to the law on the prohibition of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors as a conservative moral position.
“I don’t see anything surprising here. It seems to me that in all democratic states where laws are adopted on behalf of the majority, this issue remains debatable. Let's say that the discussion about the right of citizens to same-sex marriage in France resulted in violent public clashes. I think that everything happens within the framework of democratic procedures,” Polyakov summed up.
