Introduction

In 2014, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed into law a statute against “homosexual propaganda.” According to Putin, the statute is aimed at protecting the morals of minors against “non-traditional” sexual relations, especially pedophilia (ILGA-Europe 2014). This decision, which made international headlines and provoked a major outcry, has had a direct impact on activism in Russia: lesbian and gay groups have often been denied the right to hold public meetings, and organizing on the basis of sexual orientation has become much more difficult. Although few people have been arrested since the law was introduced, most of those detained were activists.