MOSCOW (LifeSiteNews) — The highest court of the Russian government has officially declared the “international LGBT social movement” as “extremist,” banning its activities.
During a hearing on November 30, the Supreme Court of Russia approved a petition, made by the Ministry of Justice earlier in the month, to consider the movement one of extremism and therefore prohibit its formal actions from taking place in the nation.
Though the specific acts that are included in the Ministry’s designation of “international LGBT social movement” are unclear, the ruling of the Supreme Court presumably opens the door for LGBT organizations to be shut down and their leaders and members to be scrutinized by law enforcement.
As previously reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the decision was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Justice, which said that “various signs and manifestations of extremist orientation, including incitement of social and religious discord, have been identified in the activities of the LGBT movement operating on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
The ruling was met with public backlash from leftist LGBT supporters, including the notoriously pro-LGBT United Nations (UN), whose chief of “human rights,” Volker Turk, was quick to demand the government “immediately repeal” what he described as “improper restrictions” on the “LGBT people.”
The decision is the latest move by the Russian government to curtail the impact of the LGBT agenda in the country. Beginning in 2013, the Kremlin, led by President Vladimir Putin, has shifted Russian law and policy to prohibit “nontraditional sexual relations” from being publicly shown within access of minors. More recently, in 2020, the government forbade same-sex “marriage.”
The push against the radically liberal agenda suffocating the Western world appeared to increase after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Previously, Putin has made comments that suggest less moral disagreement with homosexuality and transgenderism but greater concern about indoctrination of minors with aggressive propaganda that contradicts the conservative convictions held by the majority of the country’s citizens.
During remarks made in 2019, Putin told the media that the Russian government has “no problem with LGBT persons” and verbalized support for “let[ting] them live as they wish.” He followed up his seemingly supportive comments about “let[ting] everyone be happy” with an emphasis that teaching children that they “can play five or six gender roles” is “excessive.”
While some conservatives have hailed the efforts of Putin’s administration as a much-needed embrace of traditional values, his condemnation of the LGBT agenda’s attack on society and criticism of the sexualization of children has not come without conflicting views on other traditional values.
When it comes to abortion, Putin’s leadership has fallen short of standing by the traditional conservative values he has supported in areas such as gender ideology. Russia was the first country to legalize abortion back in 1920, and its sitting president has expressed support for the murder of the unborn, describing himself in 2017 as unwaveringly “pro-choice.”
Russia currently allows abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, a limit that is expanded an additional 10 weeks in cases of rape, and permits exceptions for abortion up to birth under the umbrella term of “medical necessity.”