The E in LGBT is for Extremist, silly

On November 30, 2023, Russian Supreme Court declared “the international LGBT movement” to be “extremist”. (1)

This decision (and this writeup) should not take away attention from the fact that Russia is continuing its horrific invasion of Ukraine, murdering, injuring, and displacing thousands of people this very moment. (2) This brutal and unjust attack on Ukraine should be seen as another Russian attempt to assimilate Ukraine and its people. (3) The people affected by this violence, of course, include queer and trans Ukrainians. (4) Even as the attitude towards LGBT+ community in Ukraine has shifted more towards acceptance during the war, queer and trans folks still need help now and will need it later when Ukraine is free. (5) Ukrainian LGBT+ organizations, like INSIGHT, Sphere, and GenderZed are helping the community with shelter, psychological aid, and essential needs and have been helping since the day the war started and long before that too.

The Supreme Court’s decision on LGBT rights in Russia should also be seen as another step in a long history of discrimination and not a random act without motivation. MediaZona kindly compiled a brief history of LGBT bans in Russia in English. I have some of these bans rattling around in my brain, particularly a ban on transgender people driving in 2015 (6) and Putin calling transgender people ‘transformers’ in 2019. (7) The recent decision keeps up with the tradition: outrageous naming conventions, vague definitions of what is actually banned, and harsh punishments for anyone even vaguely related to LGBT community. The sense of confusion combined with the fear of disproportionate violence for perceived ban violations leaves queer and trans community disconnected from each other, afraid of speaking up, prohibited from existing. (8)

I know what it feels like - I was born and grew up in Russia, and I came to Canada straight after high school as an International Student. My parents were the ones to push for me to leave, stating that “no one liked me here” at home, and sponsoring me for my studies, which is a serious financial investment. No, I don’t have a clue on how you’re supposed to interpret that either, this is the famous mysterious Russian soul. This is also the mysterious soul that compelled my parents, among many things, to outright refuse to acknowledge my queerness, asked me to “knock it off and be normal” in public and in private, and decided to call my at the time boyfriend “my sister” because he is trans. Now, many years later, I am at my most flamboyant queer and trans self, working at a queer organization, and grateful for my amazing partner. It sure does puts me in a weird position, as Russia is still the only country I am a citizen of and Canada would like me to jump through some more hoops before deciding if they want me or not.

Refugee claim on the base of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and/or sex characteristics (SOGIESC) may seem like an answer then, both to my specific situation and to the many Russians fleeing the country. I invite you to download the Queer Refugee Hearings Program Toolkit, kindly prepared by Capital Rainbow Refugee for refugee claimants in Canada. Read through the questions: when did you realize you were different? Did you tell anyone? Why not? Can that person prove you told them? How are LGBT+ people treated in your country? What do people say about LGBT people in your country? How does the police, the medics, workplaces treat LGBT+ people in your country? Describe. Have you dated anyone of the same sex in your home country? Or in Canada? Can someone prove that you did? Did someone commit a homophobic/transphobic crime against you? Can someone prove that it happened? After all this, you can still get denied. A gay Ugandan man was nearly deported in Edmonton recently, because he “didn’t provide enough documentation of his sexual orientation”. (9) Uganda passed an Anti-Homosexuality Law in 2023, with prison sentences and death penalty as punishment options, which Canada publicly condemned (10). In the end, the man was allowed to stay - but only temporarily, as he was "given a chance to reapply later" or “consider other options”. His lawyer complimented the government for “admitting something went wrong instead of digging their heels in and denying it”, which I can both acknowledge as a true fact and a painful reality I know firsthand.

Looking at the numbers of refugee claims causes me some pain too - in the period of January to September 2023, 93,040 people were referred, and 26,658 people were approved, with 126,131 applications pending. (11) And if you win the numbers game, settling into the new country is not easy, from waiting on the finalized documents to accessing care and community. (12) Even folks already in Canada are facing waves of anti-LGBT+ sentiment, like the nationwide transphobic “1 Million March 4 Kids” demonstrations (13) and proposed policy changes against schools as inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ students in New Brunswick. (14) I have grappled with the uncomfortable thought for years - yes, I am safer in Canada as a queer and trans person than in Russia, but I am never truly safe. The Russian part of my life taught me to never expect anything good to stick, and unfortunately Canadian life is not trying to disprove that. At least I get a government-sanctioned hashtag FreeToBeMe to talk about it. (15)

Safe to say, we are all collectively having a time.

If you are an LGBTQ+ person who is currently in Russia and somehow got this far, you are most likely already know better things than I have to offer. AEGIS offers a quick test to consider your risks and provides tips based on your situation. Make sure that you are subscribed to LGBTQ+ organizations on the ground in Telegram, my current channels are Sphere RU, Coming Out SPB, Russian LGBT Network, Centre-T, Parni Plus, and EQUAL PostOst. Do whatever you need to do to be safe. And if anyone pulls “no one likes you here”, well, their hecking loss. I am so sorry this is how things are and I hope better things are coming. Preferably soon.

For the folks not scrambling to stay alive and safe, there are always things to do too. Organizations that support LGBTQ+ refugees all over the world such as Rainbow Refugee and Rainbow Railroad can always use more money and more volunteer hands. Your local queer and/or newcomer organizations, like MOSAIC BC, will also appreciate help. Sign the petition on All Out to urge EU and worlwide contries to consider considering the recent Russian court ruling in their LGBTQ+ refugee acceptance processes, as maybe a government that wants you gone is not very good for people. The third bullet point on this nice little to-do list is to find your place in the fight against injustice, inequality, and discrimination. War, political instability, prejudiced policies and attitudes will hit marginalized people the hardest, including refugees and queer and trans people and all intersections of them. This court decision is not unique, not off-the-wall, not unpredictable, both for its country’s history and the global memory of discrimination. This is a strategic attack on people that are seen as disposable or unable to fight it off, in one of its many incarnations. The people under attack are not the problem, the systems that dehumanize them are. I acknowledge that “fight the system, care for people” does sometimes sound like an ungrateful and never-ending task, and yet I must say it. This is what gave me a better life, after all: my parents cared enough to support my move, my friends and community poured endless care, love, and understanding into me, sometimes lifting me by the ear out of the void to give me another chance, my partner has supported me through everything life threw at me, and here I am. In the classic Russian tradition, I didn’t expect much from life, let alone live as long as I am right now. But I am still here and I am grateful for the care that got. It only makes sense for me to offer this care further, whether it be to one person or a community, for a hope of a better day, year, or life.

last updated: 17.12.2023.