ECHR ordered the Russian Federation to recognize same-sex couples

After complaints by three homosexual couples about the prohibition of marriage and other types of civil partnerships, the ECHR ruled that there was no reason “for the applicants to be unable to legalize their unions. As for the argument that the majority of Russians do not approve of same-sex unions, the court ruled that access to minority rights cannot depend on the consent of the majority".

According to the founder of the Moscow gay pride parade movement Nikolay Alekseyev, quoted by The Insider, activists came up with the idea of gaining recognition for same-sex marriages back in 2009, when Irina Fedotova and Irina Shipitko tried to register the marriage at the registry office.

"Naturally, they were refused. After that, there were long litigations in Russia, then this case was transferred to the ECHR. It lay in the ECHR for a whole decade", - said Alekseyev.

In March this year, we will remind, the Catholic Church refused to bless same-sex unions. At the same time, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, had previously spoken out in support of same-sex civil unions. He also urged not to condemn the priests themselves if they have a non-traditional sexual orientation.