Since 2023, Russia has deemed a so-called “international LGBT movement” as an extremist group. Symbols associated with LGBTQ+ identity, such as rainbows, are classified as extremist propaganda. In recent months, prosecutions by the Russian authorities of “gay propaganda” and any expression of LGBTQ+ identity have accelerated. This May, a 13-year-old boy was charged for “LGBT propaganda” after he shared an unidentified video to his classmates. “He wasn’t trying to spread propaganda. He doesn’t even know what that is,” a lawyer representing the schoolboy said and described his actions as “a joke for the sake of a joke…adults thought it was complete nonsense, that he was promoting something.” After the Juvenile Affairs Commission reviewed the evidence, they issued a warning to the student and determined that he was “remediable.” The commission recommended the boy be remanded to a special education institute for “reform.”
13-Year-Old Russian Prosecuted for Spreading Extremist Propaganda
