Is homosexuality illegal in Russia, what laws has Vladimir Putin enacted and how are LGBT people treated in the country?
Russia's World Cup volunteers have warned they will hunt down gay England fans and report them to police if they see them kissing in public
RUSSIA'S World Cup volunteers have warned they will hunt down gay England fans and report them to police if they see them kissing in public.
But what are the laws regarding homosexuality in Russia - and can same sex couples actually be prosecuted for being openly affectionate? Here's the lowdown.
Is homosexuality illegal in Russia?
While it's not against the law to be in a gay relationship in Russia, same sex marriages are illegal.
LGBT rights groups say homophobic attacks have rocketed since president Vladimir Putin approved the controversial law outlawing the promotion of a gay lifestyle to minors in 2013.
In 2017, dozens of gay men were reportedly detained and tortured in Chechnya.
By law, all Russians over 16 must have internal passports that document their place of residence and marital status - and they must not be used for foreign travel.
How are LGBT people treated in Russia?
Although sexual activity between gay people was decriminalised in 1993, homosexual couples are not eligible for the legal protections offered to heterosexuals in Russia.
Homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in 1999.
Gay people are allowed to serve in the military, but there is an unofficial "Don't ask, don't tell policy".
Despite being slammed for the recent increase in social discrimination, crimes and violence against homosexuals, big cities such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg are said to have thriving LGBT communities.
In the past, however, there has been a resistance to Gay Pride parades by local governments.
In 2010 Moscow was fined by the European Court of Human Rights for discrimination after banning the event.
Two years later the city denied 100 individual requests for permission to hold Moscow Pride, citing a risk of violence against participants.
In a report issued in April 2012, a panel of five expert advisers to the United Nations Human rights Council condemned the wave of torture and killings of gay men in Chechnya.
In January 2018, two gay men whose marriage was registered by Russian officials fled the country after receiving death threats.
Pavel Stotsko and Yevgeny Voitsekhovsky said they also had their electricity and internet cut off by plainclothes police who stormed their apartment in Moscow.
The couple claimed they got married in Denmark and submitted their passports to a register's office in the capital, where the clerk stamped them.
Stotsko said he had exploited a loophole in the gay marriage law, citing another law that means Russia recognises marriages registered abroad.
Meanwhile, gay supporters attending the World cup were also warned it is dangerous to hold hands in public in Russia.
The equality in football pressure group that works closely with Fifa and Uefa believe those in the LGBT community could face trouble if they display their sexuality in public.
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What laws has Putin enacted?
Since 2006, numerous regions in Russia have enacted varying laws restricting the distribution of materials promoting LGBT relationships to minors.
In June 2013 federal law criminalising the distribution of LGBT materials among minors was enacted as an amendment to an existing child protection law.
That law has led to numerous arrests of Russian LGBT residents publicly protesting it.
It has received international criticism from human rights observers, LGBT activists and media outlets.
Russian historian and human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva has called it a "step towards the Middle Ages".
In January 2016, state Duma rejected a proposal by the communist Party to punish people who publicly show their homosexuality with fines and arrests.