‘You don’t intimidate us’ Human rights activist Igor Kochetkov on registering the non-existent ‘international LGBT movement’ in a bid to thwart Russia in court — Meduza

In late November 2023, the Russian Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit demanding that the Supreme Court ban the “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist organization.” The initiative was a clear attempt to criminalize LGBTQ+ people in Russia, but it also had a more basic problem: the “international LGBT movement” didn’t even exist as an entity. Then, two days before the case was set to be heard, a group of activists and human rights advocates registered an organization under the name “International LGBT Movement” in an attempt to hinder the government’s plan by joining the lawsuit as an affected party. One of the members of this group, Russian LGBT Network founder Igor Kochetkov, spoke to Meduza on the eve of the judge’s ruling. The court ultimately refused to let anyone other than Justice Ministry officials attend the closed-door hearing, which ended with the “LGBT movement” being banned, but Kochetkov’s responses provide insight into what the future likely holds for LGBTQ+ Russians.