Rainbow Railroad condemns the decision of Russian authorities to continue their crusade to criminalize queer people. Earlier this week, the government threatened to designate the Russian LGBT Network, one of the country’s largest LGBTQI+ civil society organizations, as an “extremist organization.” If approved, any participation in the organization’s activities, including volunteering, providing services, or displaying its symbols, could lead to administrative or criminal prosecution. This action follows the continued escalation of anti-LGBTQI+ repression, including the 2023 ruling that labelled the “international LGBT movement” as extremist and enacting legislation that restricted gender-affirming care and legal gender recognition.
Russian authorities have intensified efforts to limit access to LGBTQI+ information online, including blocking Rainbow Railroad’s website, censoring independent media, and expanding laws that criminalize access to materials labelled “extremist.” These measures sever a critical lifeline that many LGBTQI+ people rely on to obtain information on existing legal protections, guidance, and pathways to safety, deepening isolation and increasing vulnerability for LGBTQI+ Russians already at risk.
Rainbow Railroad has repeatedly denounced the broader campaign targeting LGBTQI+ civil society across Russia and the wider region.
“This is life-threatening for many LGBTQI+ Russians. Anti-LGBTQI+ judicial actions are directly driving protection needs and forced displacement,” says Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, CEO, Rainbow Railroad.
In 2025, Rainbow Railroad received over 600 Requests for Help from LGBTQI+ people living in Russia or Russian citizens, representing a more than 50% increase compared to the previous year. Notably, 65% of requests were submitted by LGBTQI+ Russians still residing within the country. LGBTQI+ Russians requesting help specifically cited the dangers of being openly queer in Russia, and the legal risks created by the designation of queer movements as “extremist.”
“These figures reflect escalating risk, shrinking civic space, censorship of information channels, and the growing barriers LGBTQI+ people face in accessing protection and support,” says Langsberg-Lewis. “All these risks have been reported by our Russian partner organizations, who are all being targeted by this harmful campaign.”
Rainbow Railroad has supported LGBTQI+ individuals fleeing persecution from Russia since the Chechnya anti-gay purges and continues to expand emergency relocation pathways and crisis response systems for those at risk. In response to the current escalation, Rainbow Railroad is mobilizing emergency assistance to support the Russian LGBT Network to ensure that LGBTQI+ Russians affected by these developments continue to have access to safety, reliable information, legal protections, and secure pathways to refuge.
As Russian authorities attempt to ban human rights organizations, restrict the public display of LGBTQI+ symbols and public expression, they cannot erase LGBTQI+ communities or the global queer movement that sustains them.
We call on the Canadian government, the European Union, community members and international partners to act with urgency and principle by sustaining funding for human rights defenders and frontline LGBTQI+ civil society organizations worldwide, and consider the following actions:
- Expand emergency visas and dedicated human rights defender protection streams for LGBTQI+ Russians forced into exile.
- Publicly condemn the weaponization of “anti-extremism” laws used to criminalize identity, suppress civic space, and legitimize the systemic assault on the rights of LGBTQI+ people.
- Increase flexible and rapid-response funding for frontline LGBTQI+ organizations providing humanitarian protection, relocation assistance, and crisis services to LGBTQI+ Russians in forced displacement.
- Safeguard access to independent LGBTQI + information channels and secure communication platforms that connect LGBTQI+ people who face persecution to life-saving protection pathways and LGBTQI+ support networks.
We call on our community to donate in support of Rainbow Railroad’s work to mobilize emergency assistance for those most at-risk.
The attempt to label Russian LGBTQI+ organizations as a national threat is part of a broader effort to erase communities from public life. Yet their continued existence is a powerful act of resilience. Rainbow Railroad stands alongside those working in difficult and courageous spaces to defend the rights, safety, and dignity of the most vulnerable, and we call on the international community to act with urgency to protect them.