LGBTQ+ Russians flee Putin's crackdown to build new lives in Spain

Madrid: When Diana, a bisexual Russian asylum seeker, took part in her first Madrid Pride festival last year, she was delighted to see people waving the white-blue-white flag that has become a symbol of Russian opposition to its war on Ukraine.

She was also ecstatic to be among around 100 Russians who were waving LGBTQ+ flags and chanting, "Russia without Putin". It felt surreal, said the 24-year-old, who did not want to give her last name for fear of retaliation.

"I couldn't believe I would not be sent to prison. Everyone around was so happy," she recalled as she marched again for Pride in the Spanish capital in July.

Also taking part was Ilia Andreev, who was vigorously waving a bright pink Mr Gay contest flag as the float he was perched on crept slowly through the crowds. For the 23-year-old, who fled Russia's anti-LGBTQ+ laws in 2023, it was a moment to savour.

"I can be proud," he said in Spanish.

The occasion was a far cry from the repression that drove him and other LGBTQ+ Russians out of their homeland in recent years, with many seeking refuge in Spain, which ranks fifth in the 2025 ILGA-Europe Rainbow Index, which ranks countries' legal and policy practices.

"Spain is internationally recognised as a country that respects human rights and in particular the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQI+ community," said Elma Saiz, the minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, on International LGBTQI+ Pride Day in June.

Asylum applications from Russians more than doubled to 1,694 in 2023 from 684 in 2022, with Russia becoming one of the top 10 origin countries for applications in Spain, according to the Commission for Assistance for Refugees, an NGO known as CEAR.

Of those processed, 59.7% received refugee status.

Elena Munoz, coordinator of the legal team at CEAR, said there had been a rise in Russian LGBTQ+-related applications, although data on specific motives for asylum applications are not yet being collected.

The main reasons Russians gave for leaving their home included forced recruitment into the armed forces and the deteriorating human rights situation, including regarding gender identity and sexual orientation.

As well as introducing a raft of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been using the LGBTQ+ community as a political scapegoat, said Marc Marginedas, a journalist and expert in Russian affairs.

"Propaganda has fostered a climate comparable to Nazi Germany," Marginedas said, saying Putin was using an "external enemy" to rally society and distract from military failures.

Legal crackdown in Russia

In 2013, Russian lawmakers passed a government-sponsored ban on distributing "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships" among minors.

In December 2022, after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Putin signed an amendment to the law, extending the prohibition to all age groups.

The crackdown has led to the arrest of journalists, lawyers and human rights activists, with many others leaving the country.

Andreev, who worked as a TV journalist in the city of Kazan in southwestern Russia, said he had to hide his identity after he was accused of spreading "LGBTQ+ propaganda".

"When I once wore earrings on air, I was called in by the news director and the executive programme producer. She told me they had received many calls complaining about so-called gay propaganda because of the earrings," he said.

He decided to come to Spain in 2023 on the recommendation of a friend, who had also moved.

Diana said she was fired after her boss saw her kiss her partner. She did not want to give details of her job or where she lived for fear of retribution.

While on holiday in Georgia in 2022, her home in Russia was visited by authorities because of her volunteer work with Ukrainians in Russian-occupied areas, and she decided she could not return. Growing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in Georgia pushed her to move to Spain two years later.

Red tape and barriers

Andreev and Diana both applied for asylum and are still waiting for a ruling.

The legally mandated six-month process often stretches much longer, even up to two years. After six months, asylum seekers are allowed to seek work.

But it can take months to get an initial appointment with immigration authorities, and without this, asylum applicants cannot access state aid or support from organisations like CEAR.

Delays are also driving an illegal black market.

According to NGOs, Spanish police and officials, criminals collect immigration appointments using bots and then sell these so-called "mafia de citas," or mafia appointments, for hundreds of euros on WhatsApp or Telegram to desperate asylum seekers.

And now things are getting for Russians hoping to submit asylum claims in Spain.

From July 12, Spain requires Russian citizens to obtain transit visas to pass through the country.

In the past, Russians would buy a ticket with a layover in Spain and then seek asylum during their stopover.

"It makes it difficult to reach safe territory, in this case Spain, because they no longer have a legal and safe route," said Munoz, adding that reforms were needed to make the system more efficient.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for visa policy, did not respond to requests for comment.

While they await their asylum decisions, Diana and Andreev are rebuilding their lives.

Andreev, who volunteers in an LGBTQ+ rights group, has found a home in a small town near Madrid and is working on his Spanish - he hopes to return to journalism one day. But he has struggled to build new relationships.

The stress of job hunting and trying to get all the documents he needs, plus the time it takes up make it hard to focus on building connections, he said.

Diana now has stable online work and says she has found her chosen family in Madrid, mainly thanks to online networks of LGBTQ+ Russians who offer each other support.

She feels free, even if she still fears Russian retaliation.

"If I want, I can date women, I can date men, I can date whoever. I'm not in a hurry. Why would you be in a hurry? The Spanish lifestyle relaxes you a little bit."