RUSSIA: Estonian organization defending LGBTQ people’s rights labeled “undesirable”
By Hans Noot, Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF with ovd.info (28.05.2025) – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, has labeled the Estonian Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM) as an “undesirable” organization, as reported by OVD, an Independent Human Rights organization monitoring Russian repression.
Russia has systematically suppressed what it deems “undesirable organizations” through legal and administrative mechanisms that gained momentum with the 2012 “foreign agents” law, followed by the 2015 “undesirable organizations” law. These laws allow the government to label NGOs, media outlets, and activist groups—particularly those receiving foreign funding or promoting human rights, democracy, or LGBTQ+ rights—as threats to national security or constitutional order. Groups that advocate for LGBTQ+ rights have been disproportionately targeted, with bans, fines, arrests, and harassment being common tactics. The state’s objective is to curb perceived Western influence and reinforce conservative, nationalist values aligned with the Kremlin’s ideological narrative. This crackdown intensified notably after the 2013 “gay propaganda” law, which banned the dissemination of information about “non-traditional sexual relationships” to minors, effectively stigmatizing LGBTQ+ identities and curtailing public discourse around them. But Russia’s influence is not limted to its borders. Its hand reaches over into Estonia.
According to OVD, “Gathering irreconcilable Russophobes and non-traditional activists in one former Soviet republic, invariably causes organizations such as the Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (Estonia). … The coalition unites over 90 legal entities and individuals from more than 20 countries of the world who openly support the ideas of non-binary extremism. Under the guise of humanitarian projects, NGO members are engaged in gender propaganda aimed mainly at the Russian-speaking population of Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” the agency wrote on its Telegram channel.
The coalition of organizations was created in 2011 and registered in 2013. Its goal is to ‘support the development of national LGBT-plus communities, their activism, promote human rights, take care of the health and social well-being of people with gender and sexual diversity in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,’ and among the tasks is to protect the sexual and mental health of the LGBTQ community.”
Estonia, unlike many of its post-Soviet neighbors, has shown notable progress in LGBTQ+ rights, but elements of repression and social conservatism still persist. While Estonia legalized same-sex civil partnerships in 2014 and passed legislation in 2023 to legalize same-sex marriage (effective January 2024), public attitudes remain divided. Conservative political parties, particularly the Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE), have actively campaigned against LGBTQ+ rights, promoting rhetoric that associates LGBTQ+ visibility with threats to traditional family values. This has contributed to social stigmatization, sporadic hate speech, and resistance to LGBTQ+ education in schools. Though not systemic or state-sponsored in the same manner as in Russia, repression in Estonia is more subtle—manifesting through political resistance, underfunding of LGBTQ+ organizations, and limited protections against hate crimes.