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.