Recognition of same-sex unions in Russia
Article 1(3) of the Family Code of Russia states that regulation of family relations must adhere to the principle of a voluntary union between a man and a woman. This statutory ban was introduced in 1995, explicitly forbidding same-sex marriages within the country. A 2006 judgement from the Constitutional Court of Russia upheld this law, rejecting claims that such bans violated constitutional rights. Before 1995, Soviet family law did not contain an explicit prohibition on same-sex unions. The court ruling confirmed that denying marriage rights to same-sex couples did not breach the constitution. Since then, all attempts to register such marriages have been systematically denied by registry offices across the nation.
In April 1994, Slava Mogutin and his partner Robert Filippini applied to marry at a registry office in Moscow. Although the director of the office was sympathetic, she said she could not perform the marriage by law. The couple became targets of highly publicized criminal cases carrying potential prison sentences of up to seven years' imprisonment. They later fled and filed for political asylum in the United States. In 1922, Evgenia Fyodorovna dressed as a man and forged fake identity documents to marry her partner in Saint Petersburg. Authorities discovered Fyodorovna was actually a woman and opened a criminal case accusing them of a crime against nature. The People's Commissariat of Justice later ruled the marriage legal as it was concluded by mutual consent. After Joseph Stalin came to power in 1924, oppression of LGBT people increased and same-sex unions between men were re-criminalized.
On the 12th of May 2009, a lesbian couple named Irina Fedotova and Irina Shipitko applied for a marriage license at the Tverskoy Office for the Registration of Civil Acts in Moscow. The registration attempt occurred just days before Slavic Pride scheduled for the 16th of May in Moscow. The registry office refused to issue them a license citing article 1(3) of the Family Code. The couple received a written denial from the head of the office, Svetlana Potamyshneva. In June 2013, five same-sex couples including three male couples and two lesbian couples applied to marry at local registry offices in Saint Petersburg. On the 2nd of August 2013, a lower court in Gryazi dismissed the case citing the 2006 Murzin ruling and the 2013 Russian gay propaganda law. In July 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia had an obligation to ensure respect for applicants' private and family life by providing a legal framework allowing them to have their relationships acknowledged. A lawyer representing the plaintiff couples said it was unlikely that Russia would implement the judgment. Russia ceased to be a party to the ECHR on the 16th of September 2022 after being expelled from the Council of Europe.
Following the 2020 constitutional referendum, the Russian Constitution has explicitly banned same-sex marriage. The Moscow Times reported in March 2020 that the amendments had passed unanimously in the State Duma. The 67-year-old Vladimir Putin, who has dominated Russia for twenty years, sought to cast himself as a defender of traditional values. Groups promoting fundamentalist Orthodox Christian views gained more legitimacy while liberal viewpoints were attacked. The referendum also allowed Putin to serve as president until 2036. International observers criticized the process claiming widespread irregularities including voter coercion and multiple voting. Article 72 of the Constitution now reads that marriage is defined as the voluntary union between a man and a woman. Many republics within Russia amended their own constitutions following this national change to ban same-sex marriages explicitly.
On the 4th of January 2018, Pavel Stotsko and Evgenii Voitsekhovskii married at Copenhagen City Hall in Denmark. They were indirectly acknowledged by Russian authorities as married on their passports. However, the couple later fled Russia citing threats to their liberty and security. The official who stamped their passports was dismissed and the Ministry of Internal Affairs declared the passports invalid. A court case accusing the couple of intentional damage to official documents was filed in court. Police issued a statement that they would not protect the couple from homophobic vigilantes. In June 2020, Igor Kochetkov received a tax deduction from the Federal Taxation Service under the health insurance scheme of his husband Kirill Fedorov. Fedorov had been married to Kochetkov in the United States in 2017. On the 14th of October 2020, a bill was submitted to the Federal Assembly to explicitly ban recognition of foreign marriages contravening fundamental laws of order and morality. The government announced its opposition to the bill on the 20th of October and it was not approved.
On the 7th of November 2014, Irina Shumilova and Alyona Fursova were married in Saint Petersburg exploiting a legal loophole. Shumilova had not completed her legal gender change and was still legally a man at the time. Both spouses wore wedding dresses at the ceremony despite media leaks occurring against their wishes. Employees of the registry office said they had fully complied with marriage laws as both individuals were legally of opposite sex. A similar case occurred months prior when Alina Davis and Alison Brooks applied to marry in Moscow. Davis was legally a man so the application was accepted by officials. These two cases led MP Vitaly Milonov to introduce legislation banning inappropriate clothing at marriages though the bill failed. In July 2023, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill banning transgender people from modifying their legal gender on official documents. This law also annuls marriages where one spouse has completed a legal gender change.
A 1995 survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center showed that 18% of Russians had a positive view of same-sex marriage while 38% held negative views. By January 2005, support had decreased to 14% according to another RPORC poll while 59% were opposed. A May 2005 poll from the Levada Center showed similar numbers supporting same-sex marriage at 14.3% while 73.4% were opposed. Support declined further from 14% in 2010 to 10% in 2012 and then to just 5% in 2013. An April-July 2015 survey conducted by the RPORC showed that only 8% of Russians supported same-sex marriage while 80% were opposed. A June 2019 Public Opinion Foundation survey found that 7% of respondents supported same-sex marriage while 85% were opposed. Alexei Firsov, communications director for RPORC, stated that Russia is swimming against global trends strengthening intolerance toward homosexual relationships as a parameter of national identification.
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Common questions
When did Russia introduce the statutory ban on same-sex marriages?
Russia introduced a statutory ban on same-sex marriages in 1995 through Article 1(3) of the Family Code. This law explicitly forbids same-sex marriages and was upheld by the Constitutional Court of Russia in a 2006 judgement.
Who were Slava Mogutin and Robert Filippini and what happened to them after applying for marriage in Moscow?
Slava Mogutin and his partner Robert Filippini applied to marry at a registry office in Moscow in April 1994 but were denied because the director could not perform the marriage by law. The couple became targets of highly publicized criminal cases carrying potential prison sentences of up to seven years' imprisonment before fleeing to file for political asylum in the United States.
What ruling did the European Court of Human Rights make regarding Russia on the 7th of July 2021?
On the 7th of July 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia had an obligation to ensure respect for applicants' private and family life by providing a legal framework allowing them to have their relationships acknowledged. Russia ceased to be a party to the ECHR on the 16th of September 2022 after being expelled from the Council of Europe.
How does Article 72 of the Russian Constitution define marriage following the 2020 constitutional referendum?
Following the 2020 constitutional referendum, Article 72 of the Russian Constitution defines marriage as the voluntary union between a man and a woman. This amendment explicitly bans same-sex marriage and was passed unanimously in the State Duma in March 2020.
When did Pavel Stotsko and Evgenii Voitsekhovskii marry and how were they treated by Russian authorities afterward?
Pavel Stotsko and Evgenii Voitsekhovskii married at Copenhagen City Hall in Denmark on the 4th of January 2018. They were indirectly acknowledged by Russian authorities as married on their passports until the couple fled Russia citing threats to their liberty and security, leading to a court case accusing them of intentional damage to official documents.
What percentage of Russians supported same-sex marriage according to the June 2019 Public Opinion Foundation survey?
A June 2019 Public Opinion Foundation survey found that 7% of respondents supported same-sex marriage while 85% were opposed. Support for same-sex marriage declined from 18% in 1995 to just 5% in 2013 before reaching this 7% figure in 2019.