Since 1993 the same-sex relationships are decriminalized in the country. Since 1997 the right for civil sex transformation is secured. Since 2008 the men practicing sex with men are allowed to be blood donors.
However, in 2013 a law prohibiting "the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors," which seriously limited the rights to free expression of opinion, association and union, and peaceful meetings was passed. LGBT people in Russia regularly face violations of their rights to a fair trial, labor, education and medical assistance. As stated in the Russian LGBT Network report, the concept of "propaganda" includes any positive or neutral references to LGBT, and this causes the silence about sexuality subject as it is.
LGBT people in Russia have no right to marry and adopt children. No anti-discrimination laws. At the same time, according to human rights activists, discrimination of LGBT citizens in Russia is massive and systematic, and most cases remain unknown to the public. In 2009, the UN Committee on Human Rights recommended Russia to develop anti-discrimination legislation and strengthen the fight against discrimination of LGBT people, but the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised that this was not necessary.
The most common hate crimes against LGBT people in Russia are: targeted beatings and murders, torture, hooligan attacks, sexual abuse, domestic violence, harassment of LGBT teenagers, the use of "hate language".
A report prepared by the Russian LGBT network based on monitoring results in 2016–2017 mentions cases of flagrant violations against LGBT people in the Chechen Republic, where law enforcement agencies launched an unprecedented campaign aimed at "cleansing the nation from gays".
The high level of discrimination of LGBT people in Russia is due to a number of factors. In particular: 1) LGBT at a legal level is not recognized as a social group, and it makes difficult to qualify violent crimes as hate crimes and recognize hostility as an aggravating circumstance, 2) the political agenda affects systematic discrimination, as well as values and emphasizing differences between western countries and Russia.