Russia Designates LGBT Movement as Extremist/Terrorist Organization, Adding to List of Tracked Groups

Russia has expanded its list of extremist and terrorist organizations to include the “LGBT movement,” according to the country’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring).

Rosfinmonitoring now has the authority to freeze bank accounts associated with individuals or groups designated as extremists or terrorists. Currently, approximately 14,000 entities are on this list, which includes well-known groups such as the Islamist terror organization al-Qaeda and Meta, the U.S. tech giant that owns Facebook and Instagram.

Among those added to the blacklist are associates of the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

According to a report by RT, a Russian media outlet, entities involved in extremist activities or terrorism now encompass “the international LGBT social movement and its structural units.”

This decision follows a ruling by Russia’s supreme court last November, which affirmed the ministry of justice’s classification of the “international LGBT movement” as extremist. The court also banned its structural divisions.

Over the past decade, Russia has implemented increasingly stringent measures regarding expressions of sexual orientation and gender identity, aligning them with what President Vladimir Putin has termed “family values.” These measures include laws prohibiting the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relations and the banning of legal or medical gender changes.