“But I’ll tell you something unexpected. They too – these topics and these people – have the right to win, show and tell, because this is also part of society. This is also what people live by.”
He was asked by a Serb about “LGBTQ topics becoming a mandatory requirement for winning certain film contests in the West”
Also important to note that he said they are a part of society at the same time some Russian lawmakers are talking about banning the LGBT movement as an extremist organization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHC_qFPeXt0
Russians are allowed to change legal gender but at licensed clinics. Restricted since July 2023 to stop unlicensed pro-Western liberal groups from gaining influence and making money. But they also banned adoption for trans though and surgery without other medical reasons also in July 2023.
They made it easier to change gender legally in 2018 by creating a medical certificate for trans people.
“We welcome the adoption of the Ministry of Health’s order in its final version, and we believe that its entry into force will significantly improve the situation of trans people in Russia,” says Tatiana Glushkova, Transgender Legal Defense Project’s Legal Programme Coordinator, “The document establishes a transparent procedure for legal gender recognitionwhich would allow trans people to change their documentation without applying to court. In addition, the adoption of the order would bring the Russian legislation in accordance with the European Court of Human Rights’ case law.
And in Russia, by comparison, a person can obtain an official certificate to get their gender changed on official documents and be allowed to have gender-confirming surgery within days after having a meeting with a commission and paying a fee.
On 29 December 2014, Russia passed a road safety law, allowing the government to deny driver’s licenses to people with several classes of mental disorders according to ICD-10.[105] Class “F60-69 Disorders of adult personality and behaviour” includes “F64 Transsexualism”[106] Russian and foreign critics perceived the law as a ban on transgender drivers: journalist Yelena Masyuk questioned the relevance of a person’s transgender identity in regards to their ability to drive.[107][108] On 14 January 2015, Russia’s Health Ministry clarified the law, stating that it would only deny licenses to those with disorders that would impair their ability to drive safely, and explicitly stated that one’s sexual orientation would not be considered a factor under the law, as it is not considered a psychiatric disorder.[109]
Further context: ICD 10 is a WHO list, not one Russia made.
Link to ICD-10’s categorization of “Gender identity disorders”: https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en#/F64.0
FAQ about “Gender incongruence and transgender health in the ICD”: https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/frequently-asked-questions/gender-incongruence-and-transgender-health-in-the-icd
ICD-11 has redefined gender identity-related health, replacing outdated diagnostic categories like ICD-10’s “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorder of children” with “gender incongruence of adolescence and adulthood” and “gender incongruence of childhood”, respectively. Gender incongruence has been moved out of the “Mental and behavioural disorders” chapter and into the new “Conditions related to sexual health” chapter. This reflects current knowledge that trans-related and gender diverse identities are not conditions of mental ill-health, and that classifying them as such can cause enormous stigma.
Link to ICD-11’s new category: https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http%3A%2F%2Fid.who.int%2Ficd%2Fentity%2F411470068