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News that make us care, for good or for bad
What people say VS reality
About being LGBTQ+ in Russia ‘Why don’t you just leave?’ People imagine: You just buy a ticket and start a new life. Reality: Leaving means visas, money, language, housing, work permits. It also means parents, partners, pets, and your entire life staying behind. For many people, leaving is not a decision. It’s losing everything. ‘Why you hide it?’ People imagine: Just be yourself. It’s 2026. Reality: Openness can cost a job, a university place, or housing. Sometimes safety too. So people calculate constantly: Who can know? Where? How much? It’s not shame. It’s risk management....
Imagine Barnes & Noble being prosecuted for LGBTQ+ propaganda
Sounds unreal? This is happening in Russia right now. One of the country’s largest book chains, Chitai-Gorod, is facing administrative cases for allegedly promoting ‘non-traditional sexual relationships’. Not for banned books. Not for illegal content. The charges are based on five novels that were: legally published sold openly for years (2018–2021) never included in any official banned lists Yet authorities demanded their removal nationwide. Among the books targeted: 📖 The Left Hand of Darkness — Ursula K. Le Guin 📖 The Heart’s Invisible Furies — John Boyne 📖 Novels by Fredrik Backman This...
How Russia became a trendsetter in anti-LGBTQ laws
A look at how similar legal narratives are emerging in other countries. Anti-LGBTQ laws do not emerge in isolation. They follow a recognizable political pattern. What we see across countries is not coincidence. It is narrative replication. Russia Russia pioneered the modern ‘anti-propaganda’ framework. 2013: Russia adopts the federal law banning so-called ‘gay propaganda’ to minors. 2022: The ban is expanded to all age groups. 2023: The ‘international LGBT movement’ is labeled extremist by the Supreme Court of Russia. Over a decade, restriction escalated from content control to identity criminalization. Mechanism Step 1: Frame LGBTQ visibility as a threat to children. Step 2: Expand the definition of ‘harm.’ Step 3:...
LGBT+ people in Russia: Full report 2025
Fourth year in a row, the LGBTQ+ group Coming Out and the Sphere Foundation are presenting the results of their annual study on the situation of LGBTQ+ people in Russia. The 2025 survey included 6,124 participants from across the country. The situation of LGBTQ+ people in Russia remains systemically vulnerable and is shaped by a combination of legal pressure, social stigmatization, and enforced strategies of concealment. Despite some fluctuations in indicators compared to 2024, there are no consistent signs of either improvement or significant deterioration...
What people say VS reality
About being LGBTQ+ in Russia ‘Why don’t you just leave?’ People imagine: You just buy a ticket and start a new life. Reality: Leaving means visas, money, language, housing, work permits. It also means parents, partners, pets, and your entire life staying behind. For many people, leaving is not a decision. It’s losing everything. ‘Why you hide it?’ People imagine: Just be yourself. It’s 2026. Reality: Openness can cost a job, a university place, or housing. Sometimes safety too. So people calculate constantly: Who can know? Where? How much? It’s not shame. It’s risk management....
Imagine Barnes & Noble being prosecuted for LGBTQ+ propaganda
Sounds unreal? This is happening in Russia right now. One of the country’s largest book chains, Chitai-Gorod, is facing administrative cases for allegedly promoting ‘non-traditional sexual relationships’. Not for banned books. Not for illegal content. The charges are based on five novels that were: legally published sold openly for years (2018–2021) never included in any official banned lists Yet authorities demanded their removal nationwide. Among the books targeted: 📖 The Left Hand of Darkness — Ursula K. Le Guin 📖 The Heart’s Invisible Furies — John Boyne 📖 Novels by Fredrik Backman This...
How Russia became a trendsetter in anti-LGBTQ laws
A look at how similar legal narratives are emerging in other countries. Anti-LGBTQ laws do not emerge in isolation. They follow a recognizable political pattern. What we see across countries is not coincidence. It is narrative replication. Russia Russia pioneered the modern ‘anti-propaganda’ framework. 2013: Russia adopts the federal law banning so-called ‘gay propaganda’ to minors. 2022: The ban is expanded to all age groups. 2023: The ‘international LGBT movement’ is labeled extremist by the Supreme Court of Russia. Over a decade, restriction escalated from content control to identity criminalization. Mechanism Step 1: Frame LGBTQ visibility as a threat to children. Step 2: Expand the definition of ‘harm.’ Step 3:...
Our Work in 2025: Annual Report
2025 has shown how quickly the environment around us can change. In various countries, restrictions targeting LGBTQ+ people are growing, hate speech is increasing, and cases of pressure and violence have become more frequent. Our work is becoming more difficult both because of funding cuts and because of broader societal fatigue around human rights issues. Yet it is precisely in such periods that the purpose of “Coming out” becomes especially clear. Looking back at the year’s results, we see, first and foremost, people. Those whom...
Our Work in 2024: Annual Report
The year 2024 was a challenge for LGBTQ+ people in Russia. After the Supreme Court’s ban of the “LGBT-movement” as “extremist,” repression escalated—activists face prosecution, safe spaces shut down, and support services are dismantled. Many have been forced to flee or go underground. Human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists who openly support the LGBTQ+ community are under threat. Even ordinary social media posts can now lead to persecution. Despite this, Coming Out continues its work. We have adapted to new realities: established secure communication channels,...
