In 1933, the Soviet government under Stalin recriminalised sex between men. On 7 March 1934, Article 121 was added to the criminal code for the entire Soviet Union that expressly prohibited only male homosexuality, with up to five years of hard labour in prison. There were no criminal statutes regarding sex between women

Homosexuality decriminalized, but considered an illness

In 2013, Russia introduced a law known as "for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values" (also known as the "gay propaganda law") which bans the dissemination of “propaganda for nontraditional sexual relationships,” broadly understood to be lesbian, gay, and bisexual relationships, among under-18s. According to the Russian government, this law is aimed to "protect" children from being exposed to homosexuality, since it goes against "traditional family values."

People found guilty of breaking the law face fines of between 4,000 and 5,000 rubles; government officials face fines of 40,000 to 50,000 rubles; and organizations, up to 1 million rubles or a suspension of activity for up to 90 days. Heavier fines may be imposed for the same actions if the act was carried out using mass media and telecommunications, including the Internet. Foreigners can be arrested and detained for up to 15 days (or fined up to 5,000 rubles) and then deported.

In December 2022, Russia expanded the law to cover all ages, instead of only minors, effectively making any display or mention of LGBT relationships and lifestyles on public platforms illegal. The penalties were also increased, with individuals now facing fines of up to 400,000 rubles; and organizations, up to 5 million rubles. The dissemination of materials promoting gender dysphoria among minors was also banned.

Transgender people are able to change their gender on identification documents after being issued a document from a health institution confirming the surgical requirements.

after the sex reassignment surgery that took place in September 17, 1970, a transgender man changed his legal gender and name.
Six months after change legal gender, he became a husband.

In 1999, Russia adopted the ICD-10 classification, which contains codes for diagnosing transsexualism in adulthood and childhood, which authorize the initiation of medical transition.

In 1983, transsexualism began to be professionally diagnosed in the Soviet Union, which allowed the prescription of hormone therapy

In 1926, the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs legalized sex reassignment surgery

Adoption is being regulated by the Civil Procedure Code of Russia (Chapter 29); Family Code of Russia (Chapter 19); Federal Law On Acts of Civil Status (Chapter V). None of these documents contain any direct restriction or ban for homosexual people to adopt.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Wednesday banning the adoption of children by same-sex couples, as part of an increasingly conservative agenda the Kremlin is pursuing since his return to power.

On September 14, 2001, the Russian Ministry of Health announced that men who have sex with men would be considered part of the "HIV high-risk groups," along with prostitutes and drug addicts.