Russia has added the “LGBT movement” to its list of extremist and terrorist organizations, state media reported on Friday.
The move was consistent with a ruling by Russia’s Supreme Court last November that LGBT activists should be classified as extremists, a move that gay and transgender advocates feared would result in arrests and prosecutions.
The list is maintained by Rosfinmonitoring, an agency with the authority to freeze the bank accounts of more than 14,000 individuals and entities designated as extremists and terrorists. They include Al Qaeda, US tech titan Meta, and associates of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The “international LGBT social movement and its structural units” are mentioned in the new listing, according to state news agency RIA.
Russia has tightened restrictions on expressions of sexual orientation and gender identity over the last decade as part of President Vladimir Putin’s shift toward what he portrays as family values in contrast to decadent Western attitudes.
Among other things, it has passed legislation criminalizing the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relationships and prohibiting legal or medical gender changes.
