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24 Minn. J. Int'l L. 1 (2015)
Love in the Time of Propaganda: Russian Anti-LGBT Laws, the International Legal Response and Future Implications

handle is hein.journals/mjgt24 and id is 485 raw text is: 











Love in the Time of Propaganda: Russian Anti-
LGBT Laws, the International Legal Response,
and Future Implications

Ashlyn Clark

    Over the past several years, paralleling the rise of Putin
and religious conservatism in Russian society, state-sponsored
legislation in Russia has worked to indirectly criminalize
homosexuality. A 2013 amendment to the Federal Law of
Russian Federation no. 436-FZ On Protection of Children from
Information Harmful to Their Health and Development
designated   propaganda    of   non-traditional  sexual
relationships as a harmful material and prohibited its
distribution to minors. While the law does not explicitly
criminalize homosexuality, in practice it has made Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) visibility and activism
within Russia increasingly dangerous on both a legal and
societal level. The international community, particularly the
United States and Europe, has criticized Russia's actions. The
European Court of Human Rights has even found Russia to be
in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights with
respect to its treatment of the LGBT community.1 Despite
domestic and international challenges to Russia's legislative
and political crackdown on the LGBT community, Russia
continues to codify discrimination against its LGBT citizens.
    This Note critiques the practical implications of the
Federal Law of Russian Federation no. 436-FZ and analyzes
the ways in which the law could be challenged by domestic or
international bodies. Part I introduces the history of Russian
laws regarding the LGBT community; the rise of social
conservatism  in Russia; and the international response,
particularly the response of the European Court of Rights, to
Russian treatment of the LGBT community. Part II analyzes
the practical implications of the anti-LGBT propaganda law

      J.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota Law School, class of
2016. Graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
   1. Infra note 45.

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