by Daria Lysyakova
Before I start, let me introduce myself: My name is Daria Lysyakova, I am a Russian citizen, Orthdox Christian, cis-gender female, and I am bisexual. To me, this isn’t just a human rights issue, this is personal.
During a meeting with the State Commission, which was set up in January 2020 to draft an array of constitutional reforms, President Putin announced that he wishes to add a line to the Russian Constitution which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, making same-sex unions unconstitutional. He further ruled out parenthood for same-sex couples:
“As far as ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number 2’ goes, I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it again: as long as I’m president this will not happen. There will be dad and mum.”
– President Vladmir Putin, at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, February 13 2020
The proposed change banning same-sex marriage is one among many others. Other provisions include an explicit reference to God and the Orthodox Church (while majority Chrisitian, Russia has a significant Muslim population), a vow to defend “historical truth” in regards to Soviet involvement in the Second World War, and a prohibition on cesscetion of Russian Territory (a clear reference to Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014). Most importantly, if the reforms pass all of the stages of scrutiny, they will change the balance of power in the Russian government.
The presumed rationale for the constitutional changes is to allow Vladimir Putin to maintain his grip on power after his presidential term expires in 2024. Putin was first elected as President in 2000 and held a second term in 2004. In 2008, he swapped roles with Dmitriy Medev assuming the role of Prime Minister before running for a new six-year presidential term in 2012 and a re-election in 2018. After his term expires, he will not be eligible to run a third time under the current constitution. It was always clear that 2024 would not spell the end of Putin’s rule over Russia. The real question was how was he going to disguise his position this time around? It was first thought that he would transition into the State Council which is due to gain more power under the proposed reform. However, on the 10th of March, Valentina Tereshkova (the first woman in space, who later became an MP) proposed a further amendment which would reset any Presidential term which started before the reforms were enacted, bringing Putin’s 12 year term back down to 0. Putin will be eligible to stay in office until 2036.
The constitutional changes first had to pass scrutiny in the State Duma, which held its second reading of the reforms on 10 March. On the same day, the reforms were approved by the upper-legislative house, the Federation Council, by 160 votes to 1 with three abstentions. The reforms must now pass in regional legislatures, which they almost certainly will, and be signed by the President before they are put to public vote through a referendum held on 22 April 2020. It is commonly believed that the conservative reforms are meant to boost turnout. Vote bait or not, if these reforms pass they will be as valid as any other constitutional provision.
What does this mean for LGBTQ+ Russians?
Russian society is different from that of Western European countries. There is marked opposition to homosexuality. Same-sex couples do not enjoy the same degree of legal protection as heterosexual couples. Same-sex marriage has not been legalised. The Communist party recently proposed a law which would make publicly expressing homosexuality a criminal offence – this proposal failed. Russia infamously adopted a law in 2013 which prohibits “gay propaganda to minors” which resulted in arrests of LGBTQ+ activists. It was ruled as discriminatory by the European Court of Human Rights in 2017, but regardless, the law remains valid. The ECtHR further ruled in Alexeyev and Others v Russia in 2019 that a prohibition on LBGTQ+ public gatherings violated the convention.While the reforms will not take away any pre-existing rights, they will formalise barriers which were previously left unmentioned in Russian law, and they will do so in a document which is exceptionally difficult to amend – the Russian Constitution.
This will make the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Russia increasingly difficult and the likelihood of success meagre. The reform legitimises discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and excuses homophobia. It is undoubtedly an infringement on the right to private and family life. In spite of this, I predict that it will pass all the stages of scrutiny, with a sizeable majority in the national referendum. The Russian LGBTQ+ community already has a difficult task ahead, and I’m afraid the constitutional reform will make their fight for equality before the law and acceptance in society even harder. April 22 promises to be a dark day in Russian LGBTQ+ history.
