The situation for queer people in Russia has grown increasingly dire as the Kremlin has enacted a series of oppressive laws targeting the LGBTQ community, including the decision to outlaw gender-changing surgeries and processes and declaring the “international LGBT movement” as extremist, criminalizing their existence. In this context, the case of Yulia Alyoshina, the only transgender politician in Russia, is crucial. Alyoshina's story provides a stark illustration of the severe discrimination and persecution faced by transgender people in the country.
Yulia Alyoshina, born in 1990 in Barnaul, Altai Krai, has had a rocky political career. Completing her education in her home city, she began her political journey in 2011 with the creation of the Committee of Citizen Rights. Despite early setbacks, she joined the center-right Civic Initiative party in 2020, founded by Andrey Nechayev, a former Minister of Economic Development of Russia. By 2021, Alyoshina had become the head of the party's regional branch.
A significant milestone in Alyoshina’s political career came in 2022. Amid the political uproar following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she participated in the municipal elections in Altai Krai. Her candidacy attracted substantial opposition from vocal queerphobic politicians in St. Petersburg and Moscow, with her disagreements with State Duma member Nina Ostanina over the World Health Organization’s plans to recognize a third gender causing particular controversy. Under intense pressure, Alyoshina announced her departure from Russian politics but remained a member of the Civic Initiative party.
As a politician, Alyoshina made notable contributions to legislative efforts........