Poland is marching toward same-sex civil partnerships. Equality Minister Katarzyna Kotula, a member of the New Left political party, presented a draft bill to legalize civil partnerships for same-sex couples to the Central European country's Parliament on October 18.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Moscow police raided LGBTQ bars on October 11, National Coming Out Day, resulting in the arrests of more than 50 people, according to reports.
Poland
In Poland, Kotula, a straight ally, called the draft civil partnerships bill "a new chapter in the long march toward equality" at an October 18 news conference, Reuters reported. Kotula added her appreciation for Poland's LGBTQ community, thanking the "long-standing work of many LGBT organizations" in drafting the historic bill, reported United Kingdom-based Insider Paper.
To już oficjalne! Projekty ustaw o rejestrowanych związkach partnerskich, które były omawiane z organizacjami pozarządowymi zostały skierowane do konsultacji publicznych i międzyresortowych 📣
To dla mnie bardzo ważny dzień, bo w Wasze ręce oddaję efekt wielu miesięcy pracy... pic.twitter.com/ARcfxIuppJ
- Katarzyna Kotula (@KotulaKat) October 18, 2024
Same-sex marriage is banned in the majority Catholic country, which until the swearing in of Prime Minister Donald Tusk in 2023, was bitterly anti-LGBTQ under President Andrzej Duda's far-right government. Duda, a conservative ally of the previous nationalist government and an ally of Hungary's staunchly anti-LGBTQ Prime Minister Viktor Orban, demonized Poland's LGBTQ community during his political campaigns, including urging towns to pledge to be "LGBT-free zones," and banned Pride marches in 2020.
Tusk, in contrast, leads a pro-European government coalition. Duda, however, remains in power until next year when he is termed out of office.
The proposed bill, which must be approved by parliament, states that "two persons," regardless of gender, can register a civil partnership in a registry office. Additionally, couples who previously married in countries other than Poland will be able to legalize those unions in the country once the bill becomes law. The bill also allows same-sex couples in a civil partnership to gain rights to inheritance and medical information about their partners. They would not have the right to adopt children.
Leaving adoption out of the bill was a concession to secure the support of the conservative Polish Peasants' Party, or PSL, another party in Tusk's ruling coalition, reported Reuters. The PSL already blocked a more lenient abortion bill, breaking one of Tusk's pledges to Polish voters.
The bill will go to Duda's desk for his veto or signature after Parliament passes it. Reuters reported the presidential palace did not comment on the proposed legislation.
During his campaign, Tusk pledged one of his first goals as prime minister would be to push the civil partnership bill through the legislative process to become law. The move comes after the European Court of Human Rights criticized Poland for not legally recognizing same-sex couples and urged the European Union member state to protect same-sex couples' relationships.
After coming into power last year, Tusk tried to fulfill his campaign pledge to pass a civil partnership bill his party proposed for same-sex couples swiftly, reported Notes from Poland. However, Insider Paper reported the bill was stalled by a conservative junior partner in Tusk's centrist Civic Coalition. Tusk also campaigned on a gender-recognition law to make the transition process for transgender people simpler.
Russia
Moscow police raided two LGBTQ nightclubs, detaining more than 50 people on October 11, recognized globally as National Coming Out Day.
Video and photos uploaded to the social media network Telegram captured scenes of masked police officers storming the clubs, stripping drag performers of their clothes, and forcing clubgoers and staff to lie on the floor at gunpoint as police searched their belongings.
The Moscow raids happened in the early morning at two of Moscow's most popular gay bars Central Station and later at the Three Monkeys. Both clubs are reportedly managed by the same owners, according to LGBTQ Nation.
Central Station was hosting a drag performance that attracted about 200 clubgoers for National Coming Out Day when police stormed the bar around 1 a.m. and arrested more than 50 people, reported Novaya Gazeta Europe, the Nobel Prize-winning independent newspaper. It's unclear where the people taken into custody were being detained, the paper reported.
Videos and photos of police storming the clubs were posted on Telegram pro-Russia social media channels MSK1 and Shot October 12, the paper reported.
Police claimed the reason for the raid was fighting "drug trafficking," according to a post on MSK1, reported Pink News.
"Law enforcement officers asked visitors if they had drugs on them and if they had used them that evening," according to one of the posts on Shot, reported Pink News. "Some visitors were lying face down on the floor, while others were standing, facing the wall, with their hands behind their heads."
But another post on Shot showing the raid claimed locals reported the club to authorities due to its drag shows that allegedly mocked Russia's war in Ukraine. Gay men were seen kissing, reported Novaya Gazeta Europe.
LGBTQ Nation reported the post stated that before the raid, on October 7, some unidentified locals complained of "all sorts of naughty things" and "half-naked men dressed as women dance around the stage, and the guy guests [kissing] each other freely" at Three Monkeys.
The same day the complaints were made about the club, another video of a drag show at Central Station with performers allegedly mocking Russia's invasion of Ukraine was uploaded on a pro-Russia Telegram channel, Mash. The post called for Three Monkeys to be shut down.
Novaya Gazeta Europe noted the bar raids are the latest in Russia's crackdown on the country's LGBTQ community. Since Russia's Supreme Court banned the international LGBTQ movement, labeling it as an "extremist organization" in 2023, and the country passed harsher laws against gays in recent years, there have been dozens of arrests in raids at multiple LGBTQ bars and other venues across Russia. Many of the people have been charged under Russia's anti-LGBTQ laws.
The Advocate reported the same weekend two gay bars were also raided in Yekaterinburg, a central Russian city. The Duty Free club was raided around 3 a.m., according to witnesses who spoke with Russian news outlet E1.RU.
"They were in camouflage, without identification marks. Later, the police showed up," an unidentified witness told E1.RU. "The girls were released without problems. They began to gather the men and demand that they provide documents. At about 4 a.m. they began to let them out. During this time, a crowd had gathered at the exit, it was stuffy [and] one girl felt sick and fainted. They barely forced the people in masks to take her out into the fresh air."
Video of the event showed police dressed in black and wearing masks.
A similar raid on a gay bar in the southwestern Russian city of Orenburg occurred in March. The raid led to Russia's reportedly first case under the country's ban on the global LGBTQ movement since the Supreme Court's ruling, reported LGBTQ Nation.
Moscow's Central Station club temporarily shuttered in 2014 after Russia passed the so-called gay propaganda law, restricting minors' exposure to LGBTQ information or expression, due to several violent attacks, reported Novaya Gazeta Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded the law to include adults in 2022, and the same year passed a "foreign agents law" requiring all non-governmental organizations that receive funding from outside of Russia to register, the Bay Area Reporter previously reported. Central Station's St. Petersburg location was forced to close late last year, reported Novaya Gazeta Europe.
The foreign agent law was used to attempt to close the Sphere Foundation, the parent organization of the Russian LGBTQ Network, in 2022, the B.A.R. previously reported.
Additionally, many LGBTQ organizations have closed or moved operations to countries beyond Russia's reach. The latest is Lupta, a Russian LGBTQ organization that provides mental health and legal support services in Yekaterinburg. Lupta opened in 2023 but announced its closure on October 21 after coming under "anti-queer pressure" and being designated a "foreign agent" under Russian law, reported The Moscow Times.
Got international LGBTQ news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at WhatsApp/Signal: 415-517-7239, or [email protected]
Never miss a story! Keep up to date on the latest news, arts, politics, entertainment, and nightlife.
Sign up for the Bay Area Reporter's free weekday email newsletter. You'll receive our newsletters and special offers from our community partners.
Support California's largest LGBTQ newsroom. Your one-time, monthly, or annual contribution advocates for LGBTQ communities. Amplify a trusted voice providing news, information, and cultural coverage to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay -- Donate today!