Russian deputies are preparing several bills at once to ban "LGBT propaganda" - now for all ages. Two bills have already been written, and United Russia is preparing to present its version of the fight against "gay propaganda" in the autumn. Most likely, in the coming months, a new law will appear in Russia that will prevent the representation of LGBT topics in cinema, literature and the media.
The BBC is sorting out what will happen to the Russian book market, cinema, media and bloggers if the discussion of queer culture is completely banned in Russia.
What scares deputies and "patriots"
“I won’t hide it, I would burn your entire office while you sleep at home,” Zakhar Prilepin wrote to Popcorn Books.
This is how the patriotic writer commented on the novel "Summer in a Pioneer Tie" and its record-breaking circulation. The book - about the love of two teenage boys, a pioneer and a counselor, in a Soviet summer camp - was published and sold in a gigantic circulation of 200 thousand copies for the Russian market.
The scandal was picked up by other supporters of "traditional values". Director Nikita Mikhalkov, in his Besogon program, was indignant: "How can we wage war against fascism in the center of Europe and at the same time cultivate the values of this very Europe, against which we are trying to fight, with our own hands?"
United Russia deputy Vitaly Milonov, known for his homophobic views, came to the bookstore in search of "Summer in a Pioneer Tie" and began throwing queer literature from the shelves to the floor. He was indignant at the fact that books marked "18+" are still visible to minors.
The mark "18+" appeared in Russia on books, films, articles and any materials about the LGBT community after the State Duma adopted a law in 2013 on the so-called propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations. The law obliges to "protect" minors from information about homosexuality and introduces administrative penalties for disseminating such "propaganda" among children.
The adoption of the law in 2013 was met with mass protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the European Court of Human Rights recognized it as discriminatory.
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In the summer of 2022, against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, MPs again began to care about LGBT culture.
The Legislative Assembly of the annexed Sevastopol was the first to take the initiative to toughen the punishment for "gay propaganda". The Sevastopol deputies stated that the current article banning "gay propaganda" among minors is outdated and proposed introducing administrative responsibility for "propaganda" among all ages.