Vladimir Putin has claimed it is ‘monstrous’ that Western children are taught that they can change their gender. The Russian President, speaking in Sochi, said it is ‘close to a crime against humanity’ for young boys and girls to learn about becoming transgender.

The Kremlin leader said: ‘It is terrible when children in the West are taught the idea that a boy can become a girl,’ claiming it risks ruining the lives of a generation of children. Putin has regularly faced criticism for his crackdown on the LGBT community in Russia, where same-sex marriage and ‘gay propaganda’ is banned.

It comes after same-sex marriages in Russia were officially prohibited when changes made to the Russian constitution in July 2020 came into effect earlier this year. Russia’s constitution now says that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, and also prevents trans people from adopting children.

He said: ‘(It is a) simply monstrous moment when children are pushed to believe from early on that a boy can easily become a girl, and vice versa. ‘They are pushed to believe they have a choice, imposed while parents are swept aside. ‘And a child is forced to make a decision that can break their life.’

He complained that ‘no-one even consults child psychologists on whether a child of a certain age is able to make these kind of decisions. ‘Calling a spade a spade, this is close to a crime against humanity dressed up in the name and under the flag of progress.’ He was speaking to the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, and his remarks appeared to be pre-prepared rather than off the cuff.

In June last year, Putin said Russian authorities had a ‘relaxed and unprejudiced’ attitude towards LGBT people, but decisions about gender identity could only be made by adults and therefore minors need to be ‘left alone’.

It’s the latest negative development for the LGBT community in Russia, a country in which homosexuality was a criminal offense until 1993, and classed as a mental illness until 1999. Under Russian law, only heterosexual couples can adopt children in Russia. Homophobia is rife in the nation and many choose to hide their sexuality to avoid persecution and violence.

Russia received widespread criticism from across the world when it passed a law in 2013 forbidding ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships’, one year after it banned gay pride demonstrations.

Putin has said he is not prejudiced against gay people, but that he finds a Western willingness to embrace homosexuality and gender fluidity out of step with traditional Russian values.

He has said it is his ‘duty’ to stop gay people from getting married in an attempt to ‘reinforce families’, after declaring in early 2020 that Russia would not legalise gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin. He said he would not let the traditional notion of a mother and father be subverted by what he called ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number 2’.

On 13 July, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the lack of any opportunity to have same-sex relationships formally acknowledged in Russia constitutes a violation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, but Russia has not retracted its ban on gay marriage.

Last year, the Russian parliament were debating a bill that would have removed any legal recognition of trans people, but ultimately withdrew the proposal after widespread backlash.