Keep calm and Coming Out: LGBTQ+ support in Russia

The past year has brought a new level of pressure for LGBTQ+ people in Russia. What began with the state’s recognition of the so-called “international LGBT movement” as extremist has now escalated further: our organization itself has been designated extremist in Russia on the 3rd of March, 2026. This decision is meant to isolate, intimidate, and stop our work. It increases risks not only for our team, but also for the people who turn to us for help. And yet, despite this, we continue.

Over the last year, your support helped us remain present for LGBTQ+ people across Russia during an extraordinarily difficult time. Community members came to us for help with mental health crises, legal threats, emigration and return-related questions, workplace discrimination, and the daily consequences of state repression. Thanks to your solidarity, we were able to keep this support going and adapt to the changing reality around us.

In 2025, our team provided 2,623 psychological consultations, 808 legal consultations, and 170 career consultations. We also had 39 court cases in progress in Russia and beyond, submitted 25 reports to international institutions, and documented 502 cases of discrimination. These numbers represent much more than activity: behind each consultation, case, or report is a person trying to stay safe, protect their future, or simply continue living with dignity.

The needs we saw this year became more complex across all areas of work. Our psychological service increasingly encountered severe forms of distress, including suicidal intent, gender dysphoria, and psychiatric conditions that require more long-term support. Our legal team responded to new types of requests from LGBTQ+ people living abroad who needed to re-enter Russia, parents of LGBTQ+ minors, small publishers facing censorship, mixed Russian-Ukrainian couples, and people in occupied territories under Russian jurisdiction. We also saw a rise in online “set-up date” cases, where people were blackmailed after being pressured into sending intimate images. In these situations, timely legal advice can be life-changing.

At the same time, we continued helping LGBTQ+ people rebuild parts of life that repression tries to destroy. Career consultations supported people facing burnout, poverty, forced invisibility, and workplace discrimination, especially transgender people navigating the labor market under growing hostility. Our strategic litigation work continued to produce meaningful results, including progress in cases that help shape more favorable legal practice on highly stigmatized issues. Through monitoring and advocacy, we also contributed to international reporting and policy processes that strengthen protection for LGBTQ+ people from Russia and help ensure they are not treated as safe to return.

None of this work would have been possible without your support. In a year when the Russian state tried to criminalize our existence even more directly, your solidarity helped us keep going. It helped us stay available, responsive, and connected to the community we serve. The extremist designation has not changed our mission. We will continue supporting LGBTQ+ people in Russia, documenting what is happening, and defending the right of our community to live with dignity and safety. Thank you for standing with us.

We hope your holiday season is starting gently, with the warmth and rest you all deserve. As this is the last report we share with you in 2025, we wanted to take a moment to look back at the year together. Thanks to your solidarity, we were able to continue supporting LGBTQ+ people in Russia through another difficult chapter — and we want you to know exactly where your support went.

Since the beginning of the year, here is what you helped make possible:

147 career consultations — because queer people deserve dignity, stability, and the chance to build a better quality of life, even under the laws they face today.

682 legal consultations — as state repression grows, so does the need for protection. Your support allowed our lawyers to stand by everyone who reached out for help.

2,188 psychological consultations — giving people across Russia a safe, non-judgmental space to speak, heal and receive professional support, no matter where they are right now.

And beyond these numbers, there was much more. Our team continued research work, ran advocacy sessions, and helped fight dozens of cases in courts — everything we can do to make life safer for queer people in Russia. Even today.

Finally, we launched Friends of ComingOut, a new program bringing together supporters around the world who gather in their cities to talk about LGBTQ+ rights in Russia and why this struggle matters to them, even from afar. From small dinners with friends to bright, joyful events, people everywhere are coming together to strengthen this global community.
Would you like to join them?

Thank you for being with us this year. We truly could not have done any of this without you.

Wishing you happy holidays, and see you in 2026.

With gratitude,
The ComingOut Team