How gays are persecuted (and persecuted) in Belarus

Yesterday on Irina Shikhman's channel The film was released Nikita Loika on the persecution of gays in Russia, which tells about the plight and persecution of LGBT people in Russia after the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the "international LGBT movement" as an extremist organization. The film describes in detail Stories of several gay menwho have faced harassment, violence, threats, torture from law enforcement agencies and society, including relatives.

Doberman Media decided to tell how LGBT people were and are persecuted in neighboring Belarus. 

What's going on? 

In 2021, Belarus borrowed 61st place out of 150 in the ranking of countries dangerous for LGBT people. Crimes committed on the basis of homophobia are almost not noticed in the country. For example, physical education teachers, who beat gay Mikhail Pishchevsky, who later died in the hospital, was convicted under articles on hooliganism and grievous bodily harm. 

Only one verdict is known, where the fact of homophobia was taken into account when making a decision. This is the trial of 19-year-old Occupy Pedophilia activist Artem Shlyakhtyuk. He beat a guy for being gay. 

Are gays persecuted in Belarus?

Officially, no. In Belarus, there is (yet) no law restricting the rights of LGBT people. Moreover, the country became the sixth of the former Soviet republics to abolish the article for sodomy (after Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia). This is where the good news ends.

Same-sex couples cannot marry in Belarus. According to the Constitution, marriage is between a man and a woman. Moreover, in 2005, the country proposed to return the article for sodomy to the Criminal Code. This proposal was then made by deputy Viktor Kuchinsky. 

"My position as a deputy is as follows: all these "gays" and others must be brought down in full", — stated official to the then Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Naumov. 

In Belarus, there is no legal responsibility for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Article 22 of the Constitution says that everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection of their interests. 

"There are practically no legal mechanisms for the protection and promotion of LGBT rights in Belarus. Moreover, there is a strong rejection that LGBT people should be empowered equally with all other individuals in society, — said activist of the human rights center "Identity" Kateryna Borsuk.

In 2015, the management of the football club "Dinamo" (Minsk) did not I took it to work Valentin Seredu because of his sexual orientation. He applied for the position of head of the marketing department. Fans of the club learned about his orientation and wrote an appeal demanding not to hire a gay man. 

In turn, the club issued a statement indicating that Sereda "caused significant damage to the image and reputation of the club with his unprofessional actions." What exactly these actions are, the club did not explain.

And what was it like before?

It's hard to imagine, but in 2001 the first gay pride was held in Minsk. According to various sources, from 500 to 2000 people took part in it. 

In 2001, the first pride march in the history of the country was held in the center of Minsk, in which, according to various sources, from 500 to 2000 people took part. People in bright carnival costumes under rainbow flags marched along Independence Avenue (then Skaryna) from the Circus building to Panikovsky Square on Oktyabrskaya Square. 

On May 15, 2010, a march of the "Slavic Gay Pride 2010" took place in Minsk, which was attended by about 30 activists. In the hands of the demonstrators were a 12-meter rainbow flag. The participants walked about 400 meters along Surhanau Street, stopped, unfurled flags, began to chant: "Homophobia is a disease!", "Gay equality without compromises!", "Belarus without homophobia!" Several people were detained.

People in bright carnival costumes under rainbow flags passed along Independence Avenue (then Skaryna) from the circus building to Panikovsky Square on Oktyabrskaya Square. 

One of the organizers of the pride events in Minsk was Eduard Tarletsky. In the late 90s, he created the magazine "Lambda Forum", which raises the issues of LGBT rights.  

It appeared in August 1998 and until 1999 was simply called "Forum".

On June 2, 1999, the magazine received a certificate from the State Press Committee and began to be published officially. The circulation was small. The magazine was sent to libraries, book chambers, ministries and departments. All in order to declare the existence of the LGBT community. 

After 2 years, the journal's registration certificate was canceled. Despite this, the magazine continued to be published. By 2002, 23 issues had been published. The official circulation was 299 copies.

Eduard Tarletsky left Belarus in 2008, fearing persecution. He became the first openly gay man in Belarus and the first to create the first LGBT organization in Belarus.

What is happening to gays in Belarus now?

After the 2020 protests, sexual orientation became a reason for bullying people. December 10, 2021 Detained A1 press secretary Nikolai Bredelev. In the video, he was forced to talk about his personal life and admit that he was gay. 

"This story with Kolya Bredelev has united many people very much. When a person is abused by showing his intimate photos, sex toys, confessions on camera, then it is very clear that it is not this person who is evil, but the people who do it to him. But it's still scary because those people have a mandate for limitless violence.", — told representative of the Mogilev LGBT initiative "New Regions".

Kostya, the co-coordinator of the initiative, was also harassed by the security forces. He was bullied in the police department, and his personal information was posted in the public. 

Activist and musician Zhenya Veljko was detained in September 2020 at a women's march. "After the arrest, I listened to a lot about myself, the security forces asked if I had an operation, p.. whether I am a r or not. The police department said that the country does not need men like me. Fortunately, I was not beaten", — told activist. 

According to Daria, a representative of the Identity and Law initiative, which defended LGBT rights, there was a thaw for civil society activists before the 2020 elections. After August 9, cooperation with the state became meaningless. 

"Legal default and a total policy of silence and passivity put an end to this kind of interaction," — said her. 

• In 2023, Belarus prepared a draft amendment to the Code of Administrative Offenses banning LGBT people, pedophilia and gender reassignment. In July 2025, the bill was submitted to parliament. According to the association of former security officials BELPOL, two administrative articles will appear in the Code of Administrative Offenses: 19.14 (Propaganda of homosexual relations or gender reassignment) and 19.16 (Propaganda of childlessness). According to them, a person can be fined, sent to community service or arrested.