Session of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, in Moscow, Wednesday, November 23, 2022. AP
The Russian parliament on Thursday, November 24, finally passed a law banning the “propaganda” of “non-traditional sexual relations” – that is, homosexual relations, but also pedophilia and gender reassignment – but which remains legal in Russia . The previous 2013 law only covered “LGBT propaganda” among minors.
Regarding homosexual relationships, the text adopted at third reading is particularly vague: it is enough to “arouse interest” that this type of relationship falls within the scope of the law. During the session, one member of parliament even expressed his fear that he would no longer be able to publicly criticize or denigrate homosexuality… Just as imprecisely, “the denial of family values” is also prohibited.
These bans affect “the media, the Internet, literature and cinema” or advertising, i.e. the entire public sector. Violators face heavy fines of up to 10 million rubles (160,000 euros), and foreigners violating this law can be deported.
In contrast, the Duma, the lower house of parliament, refrained from providing prison sentences in the case of a repeat offense in the second reading on Wednesday, or even from formally extending the ban on video games. Some MPs had already started compiling lists of “questionable” games.
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Care for works of fiction and literature
During the preparatory work, we could hear elected officials rebelling against certain novels. “You know, the movie Call Me By Your Name has over twenty fan groups [le réseau social russe] For example, VKontakte put MP Alexandre Khinchteïn on the podium. It’s a love story between a boy and a man. The cartoon South Park… We see a pedophile school cook there. Peppa Pig, whom we think we know well… In one episode, a polar bear shows a portrait of her family, her mother, and her “other mother.” »
Eksmo director Oleg Novikov estimates that 50% of the books published by his publishing house could be at risk
In the face of such declarations, experts wonder about the films that will disappear from screens – from the most restrictive lists of works explicitly dealing with the subject of homosexual relationships to the broadest, where the subject is only touched upon in passing. The same question in literature: the director of the publishing giant Eksmo, Oleg Novikov, estimates that 50% of the books published by his house could be threatened. Including the entire work of Viktor Pelevin, but also a biography of Tchaikovsky, who happened to be homosexual. Deputy Khinchtein tried to reassure by stating that the classics of literature like Lolita were not affected by Vladimir Nabokov, but without explaining the legal basis on which he expressed such an opinion.
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