Short answers, pulled from the story.
Russia's anti-LGBTQ propaganda law was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on the 30th of June 2013. It had been unanimously passed by the State Duma on the 11th of June 2013 and by the Federation Council on the 27th of June 2013, with only one abstention across both chambers.
Russian citizens convicted under the law face fines of up to 5,000 rubles, while public officials can be fined up to 50,000 rubles. Organizations and businesses can be fined up to 1 million rubles and forced to suspend operations for up to 90 days. Foreign nationals may be detained for up to 15 days and then deported, or fined up to 5,000 rubles and deported.
Research covering 2010 to 2020 identified 1,056 hate crimes against 853 individuals, with 365 fatalities. Annual hate crime figures tripled after the law was enacted, rising from 46 in 2010 to 138 in 2015. Studies also found that after 2013-67 percent of incidents showed signs of extreme violence, and crimes were more often premeditated and carried out by organized groups.
On the 5th of December 2022, Putin signed an amendment that extended the propaganda ban from content accessible to minors to content of any kind, covering all age groups. The expansion also added prohibitions on materials promoting transgender identity among minors and was accompanied by a surge in prosecutions, with more than 180 cases brought in 2023 alone.
The law created significant concern because the Olympic Charter explicitly prohibits discrimination. The International Olympic Committee received assurances from the Russian government that the legislation would not affect attendees, but Putin warned LGBTQ visitors they would still be subject to the law. The IOC also confirmed it would enforce Rule 50, which forbids political protest, against athletes who made pro-LGBTQ gestures at the Games.
In the 2017 case Bayev and Others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia's anti-propaganda laws violated the applicants' freedom of speech and their right not to be discriminated against. The court found that authorities had reinforced stigma and prejudice and encouraged homophobia, which it described as incompatible with equality, pluralism, and tolerance in a democratic society.