LGBT Rights in the Soviet Union (TheodoresTomfooleries)

LGBT rights in the Soviet Union
Status	Decriminalised since 2002
Penalty	Fines
Gender identity	Gender change legal since 2003, sex-reassignment surgery illegal
Military	"Don't ask, don't tell" policy since 2004
Discrimination protections	None
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	No recognition of same-sex unions
Adoption	No

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics face legal and social challenges that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality, while decriminalised is still illegal. The government does not recognize same-sex unions, nor are same-sex couples allowed to adopt or marry. There are no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT citizens in the Soviet Union, though hate crimes based on sexual orientation is prohibited. Laws against homosexuality are applied only to male homosexuals.

Attitudes towards homosexuality and bisexuality

Male homosexuality

Homosexuality was decriminalised by the government of the Russian Soviet Republic in December 1917, with homosexuality legalized in Russia in 1922. The legalization of homosexual relations applied only to the territory of the Russian SFSR and the Ukrainian SSR. Throughout the late 1920s, attitudes regarding homosexuality in the Soviet Union shifted from acceptance to hostility. Homosexuality was classified as a disease and mental disorder in the late 1920s, and the Soviet government recriminalised sex between men in 1933- the following year, Article 121 was added to the Soviet Union's criminal code which forbid male homosexuality, with a punishment of up to 5 years of hard labour. Following the death of Stalin, his successor, Nikita Kruschchev maintained laws against homosexuality, although the conflation of homosexuality with pedophilia was replaced by the conflation of homosexuality with the situational sex acts between male prisoners. The Brezhnev era saw minor liberalisations regarding censorship, and public studies were occasionally allowed to be published in support of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, but they often still faced challenges. Grigory Romanov's government did not see any significant evolutions in the governmental attitude to homosexuality. Romanov's successor, Yegor Ligachyov, passed a law in 2002 which officially decriminalized homosexuality. While homosexuality still remains illegal in the Soviet Union, the government no longer prosecutes for it.

Female homosexuality

The attitude towards female homosexuality has seen more leniency from the Soviet government. Female homosexuality, while still being considered illegal, was not held in the same light as male homosexuality. Whereas male homosexuality was conflated with pederasty and homosexuality, female homosexuality was considered as a mental illness, and subsequently many lesbians were sent to mental facilities rather than being charged for anything. The decriminalization of homosexuality in 2002 ended this practice.

Bisexuality

Bisexuality, while not illegal on its own, often overlapped with Soviet laws on homosexuality. As "homosexuality" was defined by same-sex acts, bisexuality was not considered a mental illness in the likes of homosexuality. The rights of bisexual citizens, subsequently, has not changed much.

Attitudes towards transsexuality

Transsexuals and transgender people, while still being ostracized in the Soviet Union, have fared significantly better than their other queer counterparts. Transsexuality itself was not criminalized or even illegal under Soviet law, but sex change surgeries were illegal under the pretense that it constituted bodily mutilation. In 1983, "Transsexualism" was officially recognized as a disorder in Soviet medicine. Same-sex surgeries still remain illegal, but Soviet citizens have been able to legally change their gender since 2003.