First transgender woman in Russian politics opts out of run for Altai governor

Russia’s first transgender politician and former head of the Altai branch of the Civic Initiative Party, Yulia Alyoshina, has announced that she will not run for governor as she had planned earlier.

She explained that in order to take part in the election she needed the signatures of 502 municipal deputies. However, she only received the support of 19 people. Alyoshina claims that the rest refused to support her because of the new law banning “sex change”.

Alyoshina said that the Civic Initiative Party recognises the upcoming election as undemocratic and considers the signatures requirement “an insurmountable obstacle in the process of free elections”.

In 2021, Yulia Alyoshina became head of the regional branch of the Civic Initiative Party and the first transgender politician in Russia. She had to resign after the Russian parliament passed the so-called “LGBT propaganda” law, which equates sharing any information about LGBT people to propaganda. She made her political comeback in 2023 saying she intended to run for governor of the Altai region.