When was the Russian LGBT Network founded?
The Russian LGBT Network was founded in 2006 and was formally reformed into the first inter-regional LGBT rights organization in Russian history on the 19th of October 2008.
Questions about Russian LGBT Network
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who led the Russian LGBT Network?
Igor Kochetkov served as the first chairperson of the Russian LGBT Network from 2008 until November 2014. He was included in Foreign Policy magazine's list of Leading Global Thinkers in 2013 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. Tatiana Vinnichenko succeeded him as chairperson of the board.
What did the Russian LGBT Network do in response to anti-gay violence in Chechnya?
Beginning in March 2017, the Russian LGBT Network opened an emergency email hotline after receiving reports of mass detentions, torture, and killings of gay men in Chechnya. Since April 2017 the organization evacuated around 150 people out of the region, with the majority settling outside Russia.
What did the Russian LGBT Network's 2014 survey find about discrimination?
The 2014 survey, conducted between August and September with 1,092 respondents, found that 47 percent of LGBT people in Russia faced psychological violence that year, 15 percent experienced physical violence, and 37 percent encountered difficulties with employment due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Only 7 percent said they would report rights violations to police.
Why was the Russian LGBT Network shut down?
In October 2021 the organization was designated a foreign agent. The Ministry of Justice filed a liquidation lawsuit in February 2022, arguing the network's parent body Sphere Charitable Foundation acted against traditional values and posed a threat to public order. On the 26th of April 2022 a Saint Petersburg court ordered Sphere's liquidation, ruling it had conducted foreign-backed political activity.
What was the first in-depth legal study of LGBT rights in Russian history?
In February 2009, the Russian LGBT Network and the Moscow Helsinki Group jointly released a 100-page paper titled "The Situation for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered People in the Russian Federation" at a Moscow press conference. It was the first comprehensive analysis of the legal position of LGBT people in Russian history, citing specific examples of rights infringement and discrimination.