Russia Blocks Foreign Websites of LGBT Centers and Media

Russian authorities have restricted access to foreign websites that cover LGBT life or provide assistance to the community. Resources from the United States, Japan, Turkey, Israel, Brazil, and Mongolia have been blocked. This was reported by the outlet Parni PLUS , citing BlockedIn, a service that tracks website accessibility.

Among the blocked sites are human rights centers. These include the Japanese organization Tokyo Rainbow Pride, which organizes pride events in the capital of Japan, the Mongolian organization LGBT Centre Mongolia, as well as community centers for LGBT people in Tel Aviv (Israel) and Durham (USA). These organizations focus on education and protecting the rights of people facing discrimination.

Foreign media and cultural projects have also become inaccessible in Russia. The state blocked the American bookstore and cultural center Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, the English-language publication Queer Forty, a queer tourist guide for Istanbul in Turkey, the Brazilian media Gay Blog BR, and the Pieces Bar in New York.

Roskomnadzor — the state agency that controls the internet in Russia — carries out such blockings without a court order. The authorities explain this as a fight against so-called “LGBT propaganda”. Since 2022, it has been completely forbidden in Russia to distribute any positive or neutral information about homosexuality or transgender identity. Earlier, on the same grounds, the agency blocked an artificial intelligence chat that role-played as a guy in feminine clothing.