The Russian Supreme Court’s designation of the non-existent “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization in 2023 marked the latest legal escalation in the Kremlin’s increasingly repressive campaign against LGBTQ+ people. Over the past decade, the number of cases opened under Russia’s notorious “LGBT propaganda” laws has grown eighteenfold. And in the past two years alone, fines issued under these statutes have brought more than 60 million rubles ($765,300) into the state’s coffers. Meduza takes a closer look at how this legislation evolved and what it means for queer people living under it.