Putin In Drag Picture Is Banned In Russia As ‘Extremist’

The images 'hint at the Russian president's nonstandard sexual orientation.'

An image featuring Vladimir Putin with painted eyes and lips has been banned in Russia.

The picture is listed on the Russian Justice Ministry’s list of forbidden “extremist’ materials – which now spans 4,074 entries.

The Moscow Times points out that officials have not provided a copy of the image, but that it is likely to resemble any of the many memes, murals and models of Putin used in LGBT protests in Russia and worldwide...

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An activist protests Russia's anti-gay legislation on the day of the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in February, 2014
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A lesbian couple kiss in front of a mural depicting Putin and Donald Trump locked in embrace in Vilnius, Lithuania, 2016
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A float featuring Putin kissing Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill with texts reading 'Anti Gay ?' and 'Not us!' makes its way through the streets of Dusseldorf in 2014
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A protest against homophobia and repression against gays in Russia in Madrid, 2013
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A man holds up a sign reading 'Putin go homo' in Berlin on August 31, 2013
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Protesters at the Russian Embassy in Madrid
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Two Copenhagen Gay Pride participants wear matryoshka doll costumes featuring Putin's image in Copenhagen, 2013
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It adds that court records say the image “hints at the Russian president’s nonstandard sexual orientation.”  

The Washington Post writes that a Kremlin spokesman said he hadn’t seen the picture, but he was sure it didn’t bother the President.

Images of Putin in make-up began appearing following the Kremlin’s 2013 gay propaganda law, which effectively banned the distribution of materials giving information on LGBT rights.