Russia recognises same-sex marriage for first time due to legal loophole
The couple married abroad in Copenhagen earlier this month
Two gay men have become the first same-sex couple to have their marriage recognised in Russia after finding a legal loophole.
Eugene Wojciechowski and Pavel Stotzko, who have been together for over six years, married in Copenhagen earlier this month but didn’t expect their country to recognise their union.
Though same-sex marriage is illegal in the country, a government employee stamped their passports with confirmation of the marriage in under five minutes.
Speaking to Russian channel TV Rain, the couple said their marriage was validated “without superfluous questions.”
“He did not even change his expression,” the couple added.
While the country doesn’t register same-sex marriages, the law states that marriages conducted abroad are legitimate if nothing contradicts Article 14 of the Family Code, the Independent reports.
The article prohibits marriages between close family members and people who have already been registered as married but doesn’t state that same-sex marriages can be disqualified, allowing the couple’s marriage to be validated.
According to NewNowNext, Internal Affairs Minister Vitaly Milonov is already working with Russian legislature to “amend the Family Code to which marriages can be recognised in Russia.”
Reports suggest that the couple have had their passports revoked. Stotsko has denied the claims but does believe police have made attempts to confiscate them.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia in 1993, but a survey earlier this month found that 83% of Russians consider gay sex “disgusting”.