Sergey Katsuba
Research Area: Authoritarian Politics, Human Rights Law, Socio-Legal Research, LGBTQ Rights
Email: sergey.katsuba@ucdconnect.ie
Supervisors: Dr Sara Benedi Lahuerta, Dr Alexander Kondakov (School of Sociology)
Thesis title: Institutional Discrimination as an Authoritarian Practice: Case of Legislating Heteronormativity in Russia
Abstract
In authoritarian states, law often serves as a tool to consolidate power, eroding democratic institutions and the rule of law. This has significant societal impacts, especially on marginalized communities. In Russia, for over a decade, laws have institutionalized discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Key examples include the 2013 "gay propaganda" law, its expansion in 2022, and the 2023 classification of the LGBTQ movement as an extremist organization.
This research explores how such legal discrimination supports authoritarianism, focusing on Russia as a case study. My research is interdisciplinary, exploring three main areas:
- Political: the connection between LGBTQ persecution and Russia's authoritarian legislative politics.
- Legal: the anti-LGBTQ laws in Russia (doctrinal and socio-legal analysis).
- Societal: the rise in hate crimes that followed the anti-LGBTQ legislation, including a surge in organized, targeted violence linked to hate groups.
Biography
Sergey Katsuba is a PhD candidate researching the intersection of authoritarian politics, legislative politics, LGBTQ rights and societal effects of laws (discrimination and violence). In 2023-2024 he was a visiting researcher at King's Russia Institute and Dickson Poon School of Law (KCL). He co-coordinates the LGBTQI Working Group at the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law, contributing to international discussions on equality and protections for LGBTQ communities.
Sergey’s research has produced a comprehensive database of over 1,200 anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, documenting cases across 15 years (2010-2024), which he has made accessible through a public repository. In collaboration with the Memorial Human Rights Centre, Sergey co-authored a report using his data to illustrate the impacts of discriminatory authoritarian laws. His findings are also included in civil society reports to the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on Russia (2022, 2023, 2024).
At UCD Sergey teaches the Law of the ECHR, the Law and Hate modules and occasionally - the modules in the School of Sociology. Sergey and his co-supervisor Alexander Kondakov jointly received the 2022 UCD Research Impact Award. Sergey was a joint Head of the PhD Network for the College of Social Sciences and Law in 2023-2024.
Research funding/awards
IRC New Foundations Funding (2022, 12.000 EUR towards hatecrime.fyi project – awarded to Dr Kondakov)
Fitzpatrick Family Foundation grant (2024, 3382.50 EUR)
UCD Graduate Research and Innovation Fund (2022 – 500 EUR, 2023 – 750 EUR)
UCD School of Law Research Competition Grant (2023, 845 EUR)
2022 UCD Research Impact Award (jointly with Dr Kondakov, runners-up)
2023 UCD Thesis in 3 competition, winner
2023 Irish National Thesis in 3 competition, finalist
2023 U21 International Thesis in 3 competition, finalist
UCD Sutherland School of Law PhD Scholarship (22.000 EUR annually for 4 years)
Publications
Database of anti-LGBTQ hate crime cases in Russia (2010-2024) https://greyrainbow.dataout.org/hate-crimes-en/
Anti-LGBTQ politics of Russia and its consequences, Memorial Human Rights Centre (due to be released on the 30th of Nov 2024 - watch this space)
The Decade of Violence: A Comprehensive Analysis of Hate Crimes Against LGBTQ in Russia in the Era of the “Gay Propaganda Law” (2010–2020). Victims & Offenders, 19(3), 395–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2023.2167142
Premeditated, Organized and Impactful: Dating Violence as a Method of Committing Hate Crimes Against LGBTQ People in Russia. J Fam Viol 39, 1407–1420 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-023-00638-z
Authoritarian backlash on LGBTQ rights: a case of Russian anti-LGBTQ laws and the increase in the level of hate crime that they triggered - International Network or Hate Studies Blog https://internationalhatestudies.com/authoritarian-backlash-on-lgbtq-rights-a-case-of-russian-anti-lgbtq-laws-and-the-increase-in-the-level-of-hate-crime-that-they-triggered/
Putin’s Russia: first arrests under new anti-LGBT laws mark new era of repression – The Conversation https://theconversation.com/putins-russia-first-arrests-under-new-anti-lgbt-laws-mark-new-era-of-repression-226864
30 years of LGBTQ+ history in Russia: from decriminalisation in 1993 to ‘extremist’ status in 2023 – The Conversation https://theconversation.com/30-years-of-lgbtq-history-in-russia-from-decriminalisation-in-1993-to-extremist-status-in-2023-220569
Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination and Violence - Russian Analytical Digest (RAD) https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/631043
Число жертв преступлений против ЛГБТ в России выросло в полтора раза в 2023 году (interview for Stories.Media) https://istories.media/stories/2024/05/21/hate-crimes-against-lgbt/
How Russia’s 2013 ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law Catalyzed a Decade of Anti-LGBTQ+ Violence (interview for The Moscow Times) https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/26/how-russias-2013-gay-propaganda-law-catalyzed-a-decade-of-anti-lgbt-violence-a79309
Decade of violence: monitoring anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in Russia https://www.ucd.ie/research/impact/casestudies/adecadeofviolencemonitoringanti-lgbtqhatecrimesinrussia/
Conferences
Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (Boston, November 2024). Panel organiser: Law as Mechanism of Authoritarian Rule. Paper presentation: Law as an instrument of state repression: the progression before and after the invasion
European Consortium of Political Research General Conference (Dublin, August 2024). Paper presentation: How Authoritarian Rhetoric in the Parliament Affects the Emergence of Restrictive and Punitive Legislation: the Study of State Duma in Russia (with Artur Baranov). Panel Chair: Conflict resolution and peacebuilding approaches
British Association of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies (Cambridge, April 2024). Panel Chair: Constitutions, Leaders and Non-Democracies. Paper presentation: Decade of violence: monitoring anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in Russia in the era of aurocratization
Annual Conference of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (Portsmouth, March 2024). Paper presentation: From Rainbow Prints to Dating Profiles: What Exactly is Restricted Under the “Gay Propaganda Law” in Russia?
Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (Philadelphia, November 2023). Paper presentation: Decade of Violence: A Dark Anniversary of the “Gay Propaganda” Law in Russia
Global Meeting Law and Society Association (Lisbon, August 2022). Paper presentation: Comprehensive Analysis of Hate Crimes Against LGBTQ in Russia (2010 – 2020)
Wisconsin Russia Project 2022 Young Scholars Conference (Madison, June 2022). Presentation: Censorship, Discrimination and Violence: A Socio-Legal Analysis of the Effects of the Russian “Gay Propaganda Law”
Annual Conference of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (York, March 2022)