Hilarious. By banning the image, the Russian authorities have essentially guaranteed that the image will now be more popular than ever.
Moscow (CNN) It is now illegal in Russia to distribute any images that depict President Vladimir Putin wearing makeup and implying he is gay.
Such images — or caricatures – have been widely shared online over the past few years known as the Putin gay clown meme.
The Justice Ministry in Moscow has included one of them among a registry of “extremist materials,” along with others such as anti-Semitic and racist pictures and slogans.
The punishment for offenders who distribute, retweet or share the image is 15 days in prison or a fine of 3,000 rubles ($53).
Images of Putin, often with rouged cheeks and eye shadow, have been online since 2011 — and have had much wider circulation since 2013 in protest over what became known as Russia’s gay propaganda law.
The law, which describes homosexuality as “non-traditional sexual relations,” bars the public discussion of gay rights and relationships anywhere children might hear it. It has been fiercely opposed by gay rights groups in Russia and beyond as well as by other human rights groups and the political opposition in Russia.
The circulation of the images first came before the courts last year in Tver, a city northwest of Moscow.