Russia’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Law Invades a Gay Couple’s Life on Tik Tok

Gela Gogishvili, a 23-year-old Russian citizen, and his boyfriend Haoyang Xu, a 21-year-old Chinese national, were arrested on April 5 for violating Russia’s anti-LGTBQ law. 

In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that banned the act of spreading “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” to minors. As of December 5, 2022, that law was expanded to include adults, and “made it illegal to promote or “praise” LGBTQ+ relationships, publicly express non-heterosexual orientations, or suggest that they are “normal.” The new law also banned all advertising, media, and online resource books, films, and theater productions that affirm the LGBTQ+ community or individuals.” 

Anyone who chooses to contravene the law will face a fine ranging from 100,000 to 2,000,000 Russian rubles ($1,660 to $33,000 USD).

The couple met on a dating app two years ago and now have their own platform on Tik Tok and YouTube where they currently have 375,000 followers and 65,000 subscribers. They are known for creating romantic content and vlogs documenting their lives as a gay couple on the internet. They have spoken about facing homophobic antagonism prior to their arrest but have never experienced targeted hate to this extreme.

Gela and Haoyang opened up about the situation when they released a YouTube video explaining how their lives have been turned upside down since discovering that they were under investigation for promoting their relationship as a gay couple through social platforms.

Haoyang was notified by one of his teachers at the university he attends that the police had warned her about the social content they were creating, sending the couple into a state of panic. Gela, who is a pharmacist in the city of Kazan, was searched for by Russian authorities as they scoured local pharmacies with pictures of Gela’s face. The couple announced that they were notified by police that they were being charged with violating the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws and needed to come into the station to sign some paperwork and pay a fine or have an unarmed officer sent to their home. 

The couple was stopped by police while at a museum with friends and was escorted to a local police station for questioning after gathering Haoyang’s passport and visa from the couple’s apartment. Authorities proceeded to attempt to force the couple into signing papers admitting to being guilty; however, the couple rejected their attempts, and eventually, Gela was released from custody after an outcry from their supporters. Haoyang still remains in custody and may face immediate deportation. Gela told Newsweek that “I’m holding in tears because I don’t have time to cry right now,” 

The enactment of this new law has unleashed Russian citizens possessing homophobic views creating an even more uncertain and perilous environment for members of the LGBTQ community residing within the country’s borders. Gela stated on their YouTube channel that “now representatives of the queer community are being attacked, people are imprisoned, fined, forced to flee the country, persecuted.” 

If convicted, the couple will be subject to administrative fines, and Haoyang will be deported forthwith.