Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, previously holding the position from 1999 until 2008. He was also the Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012.
Trans Russians panic over proposed gender surgery ban
When Dimitri, a transgender 17-year-old from Russia, found out about a proposed law that would ban people from transitioning gender, he considered taking his own life. “If it wasn’t for my beloved boyfriend and my best friend I would probably be in the next world,” Dimitri told Openly by phone from his home near Moscow, asking not to use his real name to protect his identity.
The draft legislation, which would outlaw both changing gender on official documents and gender-affirming medical care including surgery, received initial backing on June 14 from the lower house of parliament.
It is in line with President Vladimir Putin’s drive to crack down on what he calls “non-traditional” lifestyles, and won strong support from his allies in the State Duma. “We preserve Russia for posterity, with its cultural and family values, traditional foundations, putting up a barrier to the penetration of Western anti-family ideology,” Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy chairman of the Duma, said during the first reading.
Tolstoy and the Russian government’s press department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. As the bill heads for a second reading this week, it has plunged tens of thousands of trans Russians into despair and uncertainty, upending their plans to change legal gender or undergo transition medical care, LGBTQ+ rights advocates said.
