In 2022, transgender Russians received the maximum number of passports

In 2022, transgender Russians received 936 passports, which is 1.7 times more than in the previous year, and the most in the last four years. Mediazona reports this with reference to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Among the reasons interviewed by “Mediazona” experts and transpersons themselves cite the war in Ukraine, mobilization and emigration, including because of the law on “LGBT+ propaganda” and the strengthening of transphobic rhetoric in Russia.

The increase in the number of passports issued to change the gender marker began immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and intensified after the announcement of mobilization: 119 passports in December against 61 in March and 36 in February.

Interlocutors of “Mediazony” note that after the announcement of mobilization for the war in Ukraine, transfeminine people tried to change their documents faster, while transmasculine ones – on the contrary, postponed the decision so as not to get to the front.

• The data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the years up to 2019 have been published only partially, Mediazona notes.
• In Russia, the law prohibiting the dissemination of positive information about homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism entered into force on December 5, 2022.
• After that, Roskomnadzor added more than 200 sites to the register of prohibited information. Many bookstores removed from sale products in which it is possible to find mention of homosexual relations, video services began to censor films, and the department itself prepared a list of films with “propaganda” of LGBT+.