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.
Ukraine LGBTQ+ community in fear after Russian assault
As missiles pounded Ukraine’s capital on Friday, LGBTQ+ rights campaigner Olena Shevchenko said the prospect of Russian occupation had terrified the community, with many joining an exodus from Kyiv.
While Ukrainian LGBTQ+ activists often encounter abuse and harassment from far-right sectors, Russia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has faced growing persecution since the Kremlin adopted a gay “propaganda” law in 2013. “It will not be possible (for LGBTQ+ people) to stay, especially if it is a long occupation,” Shevchenko, chairperson of LGBTQ+ rights organisation Insight, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a WhatsApp call from Kyiv.
As Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine entered a second day, she said she could hear explosions every 15-20 minutes from her home in the city.
Gay sex is legal in Russia, but the state has often threatened LGBTQ+ organisations with closure. The 2013 law banned the dissemination of “propaganda on non-traditional sexual relations” among Russians under the age of 18.
