Physical and legal sex changes are now outlawed in Russia under a new law passed by the national government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law Tuesday a bill amending the country's Family Code to ban "medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person."
The new law also banned alterations to citizens' passports, identification cards and state registrations.
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Lawmakers have framed the legislation as a proactive measure against "Western anti-family ideology."
The legislation was previously passed through both the upper and lower houses of the Russian Parliament — the State Duma and the Federation Council, respectively.
Additional clauses in the bill designates gender changes as grounds for a marriage annulment and bans transgender individuals from adopting children.
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It contains the sole exception for medical interventions to treat congenital anomalies.
The bill was strengthened and passed unanimously earlier this month in its third and final reading in the lower house of parliament.
It comes ahead of Russia's 2024 presidential election. Putin has consistently campaigned as a champion of family values, encouraging Russians to marry and have more children and offering monetary awards to parents with large families.
He has developed close ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and, in speeches, has portrayed Western liberal values as destructive compared to "traditional values."
"Do we really want to have here, in our country, in Russia, 'Parent No. 1, No. 2, No. 3' instead of 'Mom' and 'Dad?'" Putin asked in September 2022 at a political ceremony during which Russia formally annexed regions of Ukraine.
He continued, "Do we really want perversions that led to degradation and extinction to be imposed in our schools from the primary grades?"
In 2020, Putin advocated for a constitutional reform that outlawed same-sex marriage.
