During the lead-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics, protests and campaigns arose surrounding the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia.

Concerns for LGBT athletes and supporters during the Games began as early as March 2012, when a Russian judge blocked the establishment of a Pride House in Sochi, ruling that "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships" would "undermine the security of Russian society", and that it conflicted with public morality and the country's policies "in the area of family motherhood and childhood protection."

The majority of protests, however, centred on the passing of a law in June 2013, which banned the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships" among minors and it was argued that the law was broad enough so that it would ban any public display of LGBTQ+ symbols and suppress LGBTQ+ culture in Russia. The law itself was also considered to have caused an increase in homophobic violence, and an increase in the arrest of pro-LGBT protesters.

The implications of the law on the then-upcoming Winter Olympics were a major concern among athletes and the Western media, as the Olympic Charter contains language explicitly denouncing all forms of discrimination. Early international pressure was leveraged to compel the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move the Olympics to another country, as well as pressure on Olympic sponsors to take a stand for LGBT equality. In tandem, calls to boycott and protest the Olympics before, during, and after the games also went out from various organizations and groups, and a number of Olympic athletes came out as a symbolic protest of the law. Prior to the Games, similar pressure was placed on major Olympic sponsors, and several non-sponsors also made public statements in support of LGBT rights. Several national politicians declined to attend the Games, which some Western media outlets attributed as connected to the legislation, while others stated that few leaders normally attend the Winter Games as it is not a "must attend" event.

Timeline of protests and related events

2013 (June 2013) Russia passed a law with near unanimous support by Russian lawmakers, and signed by President Vladimir Putin, banning the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations", and "imposes fines for providing information about the gay community to minors." (29 June 2013) Dozens of gay activists were beaten and arrested at a gay rights rally in St. Petersburg citing the new law. (July 2013) A multifaceted campaign is launched to raise awareness about the gay rights situation in Russia, and stem future Olympic bids going to countries who violate human rights. (July 23, 2013) The first arrests of foreign citizens under the ban against gay propaganda took place in Murmansk, when four Dutch citizens, attending a human rights seminar, were also filming a documentary on gay life in Russia. (9 August to 6 September) In August and September 2013 the Russian embassies in Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki all had Rainbow crossings painted on the road outside of the embassy buildings in response to the new law. In Helsinki the activists returned the night after they had painted the zebra crossing and staged a kiss-in in front of the Russian embassy. In Stockholm the activists returned to the rainbow crossing and walked naked across it whilst they were having their photo taken by other activists and they also stood outside the embassy wearing only underwear and dressed up in drag. One of these activists in Stockholm who was wearing only a tight fitting pair of shiny blue underwear also pole danced upside down on a street sign pole outside of the embassy. (14 August 2013) U.S. runner Nick Symmonds became "the first international athlete to denounce Russia's law against "gay propaganda" on the country's soil." He had just won the silver medal in the 800 m race in Moscow, and dedicated the medal to his gay and lesbian friends and called for LGBT equality. (26 August 2013) Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff came out as gay to bring attention to Russia's LGBT propaganda law, and for lesbian and gay athletes. Brockhoff also commented that "It's the perfect opportunity to send a message. The Australian Olympic Committee has been really supportive and they want me to be safe. They don't recommend me waving a [rainbow] flag around which I won't do. The most I'll do is hold up six fingers to represent Principle Six. Possibly I'll do it on camera here or there, and maybe after the heats of my event... ...After I compete, I'm willing to rip on his ass." (29 August 2013) Human Rights Campaign sent letters to the ten Worldwide sponsors of the International Olympic Committee, Dow Chemical, Coca-Cola, General Electric, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Panasonic, Samsung, Omega, Visa Inc., and Atos, to take steps to stem violence against LGBT people including a clear and unequivocal public position in opposition to anti-LGBT laws, denouncing violence targeted against LGBT people and demanding accountability, asking the IOC to obtain written commitments for the safety of LGBT athletes and attendees, and rejecting future Olympic bids from countries that outlaw support for LGBT equality. (5 September 2013) Canadian Olympic speed skater Anastasia Bucsis publicly came out as gay "in response to Russia's anti-gay laws". (25 September 2013) Two gay rights activists were detained by police officers outside the Sochi Organizing Committee office in downtown Moscow. They had been holding a poster, "Homophobia is Russia's Disgrace" during a protest. (6 October 2013) In October 2013 2,000 people filled Stockholm's Olympic Stadium and then sung the national anthem of Russia whilst waving Rainbow flags as well as placing large Rainbow flags along the top of the wall that runs around the back of the seating at the top of the stadium. The performance was later uploaded to youtube. (15 December 2013) French President François Hollande first kissed a male citizen (openly against Russian laws) then joined German President Joachim Gauck and EU Commissioner Viviane Reding in boycotting the Sochi Olympics in protest of the law. (20 December 2013) The U.S. official delegation, in a surprise announcement, would not include any members of President Barack Obama's family, or an active Cabinet secretary, the first time in at least twenty years. The delegation instead would be composed of openly gay athletes, "a clear jab at Russia's recent anti-gay laws." (29 December 2013) Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano came out as gay publicly; he had been named as part of the American Olympic delegation by President Barack Obama. The actions were widely seen as a response to the anti-gay laws enacted.

2014 (pre-Games) (10 January 2014) The U.S. State Department issued warnings for Americans traveling to the Olympics. Specifically for LGBT people it noted that "Russia has in place a law that bans the 'propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations' to minors. It said authorities have been vague about defining 'propaganda' and that the law applies to foreigners. A conviction on the charge could result in a fine, a jail term and deportation." (16 January 2014, or before) The annual "Orthodox Calendar" is released, featuring drawings of naked men, with some proceeds used to combat anti-LGBT laws in Russia. The calendar was created to criticize homophobic views in Eastern Orthodox communities and the former Soviet Union. (17 January 2014) Russian president Vladimir Putin, in a meeting with Olympic volunteers explained that their rainbow-colored uniforms were not considered violating the Kremlin's anti-LGBT initiatives because "We do not have a ban on non-traditional sexual relationships ... We have a ban on the propaganda of homosexuality and paedophilia." The rainbow flag and colors are an international symbol for LGBTQ communities. Conflating homosexuality with pedophilia has been a common practice in the opposition to the gay rights movement. In its Winter 2010 Intelligence Report the Southern Poverty Law Center noted that since the 1980s there has been organized efforts by "hard-line elements of the religious right searching for ways to demonize gay people  — or, at a minimum, to find arguments that will prevent their normalization in society." These groups utilize anti-gay myths to "form the basis of its claim that homosexuality is a social evil that must be suppressed — an opinion rejected by virtually all relevant medical and scientific authorities." The SPLC notes these anti-gay myths "almost certainly contribute to hate crime violence directed at the LGBT community, which is more targeted for such attacks than any other minority group in America." (18 January 2014) A gay Russian protestor, Pavel Lebedev, was tackled and detained for unfurling a rainbow flag during the Olympic torch relay as it passed through his hometown of Voronezh, 506 miles north of Sochi. (See 23 January.) (23 January 2014) Olympics sponsor McDonald's launched a social media campaign #CheerstoSochi to offer well wishes to Olympians. The hashtag was quickly hijacked by activists who instead used it to post protest images and messages of support for Pavel Lebedev, who was tackled and detained in his hometown on 18 January for holding a rainbow flag while the Olympic torch went by. (28 January 2014) Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola was forced to shut down an interactive feature that allowed users to put messages on Coke cans supporting the Olympic athletes. LGBT activists hijacked the campaign, "urging people around the globe to use the cans to highlight messages about Russian anti-gay brutality." (29 January 2014) Head of the Sochi Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, expressed clarifications of athletes making political statements during their news conferences at the Games. Contradicting IOC president Thomas Bach, who said athletes could make political statements during their media interviews, Chernyshenko said a free speech zone would be available for speaking about politics ten miles away from Olympic venues.Three protest parks were designated in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics, at the suggestion of the IOC. All 77 applications to protest there had been withdrawn or denied, and no protests took place. Four persons who applied to protest were arrested or sentenced to reeducation.(Elderly Chinese Women Sentenced to Labor Re-education, The Washington Post, August 20, 2008; Peter Foster, The IOC plays appeaser in Beijing, Telegraph Blogs, August 20, 2008.) (29 January 2014) In an interview with the BBC, British Culture Secretary Maria Miller said the UK government would provide extra funding for gay rights campaigners in Russia, in conjunction with the Olympic Games opportunity. (29 January 2014) LGBT media-watchdog group GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) launched a resource guide for journalists covering the 2014 Olympics, as well as Global Voices program, "sharing culture-changing stories of LGBT people and families in national and international media."