With a voter participation of 64.9 percent, the Russian population voted with a majority of 78 percent for the largest constitutional reform in the country’s history, as advocated by Vladimir Putin.

Putin had already declared in March during the public announcement of the referendum postponed because of COVID-19 that there will be no opening of marriage under his presidency (we have reported). And of course he was right: In article 72 of the reformed constitution, the “protection of the institution of marriage” as solely a “union of man and woman” becomes a national aim of the Russian Federation. This amounts to a de facto ban on same-sex marriage.

God’s laws before international law?

The constitutional amendment provides that Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe, no longer has to bow to international judgements. This means that the new constitutional version can overturn virtually any decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). This is actually unimaginable for queer people in Russia who had turned to the ECHR in the past, but unfortunately this has now become a reality.

Among the other amendments adopted is the fact that “believing in God” will be enshrined in the constitution. The already ideologically influential Russian Orthodox Church can thus rejoice in the even greater weight of its influence. A video posted on Twitter demonstrates the new self-image: members of Sorok Sorokov, a conservative Christian Orthodox group, can be seen filming themselves trampling on a rainbow flag on the sidewalk outside the US embassy. The Moscow Times reported that the rainbow flag, which was hung at the US embassy in Moscow during Pride Week, became the target of homophobic protests after an Orthodox spokesman decried the flag as disrespectful to Russian values.

Doubts about the vote

The independent organisation Golos, which campaigns for voters’ rights, reported by Tuesday afternoon of almost 700 violations of electoral law in Russia, particularly against freedom of choice. The duration of the vote was also criticised, which had made it impossible to monitor the polling stations. In addition, figures from individual regions had already been published before the end of the vote.

The following tweet illustrates the perfidious way in which organisations like Golos are discredited:

Arrests of queer demonstrators

Last weekend, Russian police arrested more than 30 people who took part in individual protests against the detention of LGBTI activist Julia Tsvetkova. Tsvetkova is accused of having published pornographic photos.

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