Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender/Transsexual (LGBT) people suffers another defeat on their rights.
President Vladimir Putin made a crackdown on LGBT rights in Russia, as has signed into law that people can no longer change their gender by undergoing surgical procedures or hormone therapy.
Changing one’s gender in official documents and public records has also been banned.
The new legislation stipulates that any marriages in which one partner changed their gender will be annulled, and transgender people are barred from adopting children or becoming foster parents.
Before Monday when Putin signed the law, the sex change ban had been approved unanimously by both chambers of the Russian parliament.
The initiators of the law said they wanted to protect cultural traditions and family values in the fight against same sex marriages.
Human rights activists denounced the law, calling it a violation of the right to self-determination.
Doctors also criticized the move, arguing that it will deny people access to medical help.
The banned gender reassignment surgery by Russia had been viewed by critics as yet another stage in the brutal repression of LGBT individuals, amid a general deterioration in fundamental rights and liberties.
France condemned the bann and stated that this is a dangerous escalation and expressed its total solidarity with LGBT people in Russia.