The new legislation signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday banning any favourable public depiction of LGBT relationships or identities is a profoundly dangerous ploy to shore up mob support for the Kremlin by harnessing popular prejudice — and one that risks endangering some of the most vulnerable members of Russian society.
The new statute, which expands five existing laws, at no point actually defines what constitutes the so-called “LGBT propaganda” it proscribes — surely a vital element of any serious legislation. Though that may well be intentional, as seen with bookshops across Russia pre-emptively removing titles depicting same-sex relationships on Tuesday, and with the media and the arts sure to follow.