June 01, 2023

Russia To Ban Gender Reassignment?


Russia To Ban Gender Reassignment?
Hand holding a trans rights flag. transarmyofficial, Instagram.

The Duma has drafted a law forbidding gender transition in Russia. The legislation focuses on prohibiting gender-affirming surgery but also bans gender changes in official documents, such as passports. This action is just the latest state-sponsored anti-LGBT action.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, anti-LGBT laws were loosened, but then the course reversed when Vladimi Putin became president in 2000. According to journalist Masha Gessen, who is non-binary, the Kremlin's goal has been "to establish Russia as 'the "family values capital' of the world." Laws were passed to take kids away from non-straight and transgender parents, label LGBT Russians as "foreign agents," and ban "LGBT propaganda." As well, homophobic groups have threatened and murdered activists, including advocate Yelena Grigorieva.

In 1997, Russian law allowed citizens to change their gender on national documents. In 2020, however, a law was proposed that reverted the stated sex of transgender people in their birth certificates to the one they were assigned at birth, but it did not pass. Today, to access gender-affirming care such as surgeries or hormone therapy, Russians must obtain a certificate from a doctor of "transsexualism." This word is both incorrect and stigmatizing in English and Russian

Access to gender-affirming care is vital since, according to the Sage Neuroscience Center, it lowers the risk of suicide by 75 percent and increases an individual's overall quality of life.

 

You Might Also Like

Dance Floor Dissent
  • May 26, 2023

Dance Floor Dissent

A video of people singing pro-Ukraine lyrics prompted government intervention.
FSB To Seize Passports
  • May 24, 2023

FSB To Seize Passports

The State Duma is going to give the FSB the right to take away passports at the border.
Violence Comes Home, Too
  • April 22, 2023

Violence Comes Home, Too

A man from Nizhny Novgorod fought in Ukraine. When he returned to Russia, he killed his wife.
Homophobia Codified
  • August 30, 2022

Homophobia Codified

The Russian state is preparing to pass new laws banning "gay propaganda" after a recent book led to public outrage.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955