Russia ‘creating database of LGBTQ+ citizens’, new report claims

Russia’s government is allegedly creating a sweeping electronic database of LGBTQ+ people in the country, an independent Russian news outlet has reported.

Citing anonymous sources from the country’s Interior Ministry – the department which oversees law enforcement – Latvia-based independent Russian-language news outlet Meduza said plans for the database had been in the works for some time.

According to sources, it will be a “large-scale” system to register and track LGBTQ+ people who are defined as members of the “the international LGBT movement” – which was labelled as “extremist” by the Russian government in 2023.

In recent months, there has been a crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in Russia under its anti-propaganda law which has led to bar staff and venue owners being jailed, more than 50 club-goers being detained, language-learning app Duolingo being forced to remove inclusive content, children’s cartoon My Little Pony being labelled 18+ and a gay student expelled from university for posting make-up videos.

In January, man was fined for joking that he ‘started’ the international LGBTQ+ rights movement whilst a month earlier, in December, another man who was accused of running an LGBTQ+ travel agency was found dead in his cell.

The information from the sources was corroborated by United Russia member Dmitry Chukreev who told the publication: “[Police] records have been kept since the Supreme Court ruling came into force.

“Everyone is being recorded and put on record.”

Alongside a record of LGBTQ+ folks, Russian officials are also allegedly planning to make a public registry for sex workers so “everyone could check a friend or fiancée”, a source said.

“Administrative violations in the relevant areas should be visible there, for example, fines for ‘gay propaganda’,” they added.

However, as yet, it seems there are not the funds, employees or resources to create an maintain the database given the impact of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

According to the Meduza report, officials in Russia describe the LGBTQ+ community as a network of “paramilitary groups” who they allege are calling for an “open gender war” and engage in “dehumanization” and “devil worship”.

One queer venue told the publication that “security forces copied the entire database from the computer where we keep track of reservations” whilst other venues have spoken of police taking mouth swabs and finger prints and demanded event attendees state their registered address on camera.