Same-sex marriage now legal in British consulates in Russia

British couples will now be able to marry in British consulates in Russia and 22 other countries following a new law that came into force yesterday. According to a statement on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), same sex marriages can now take place in countries “where it is not possible for British nationals to have such a marriage under local law and where the local authorities have given permission”.

The law is part of the FCO’s attempt to export British values abroad, according to Chris Bryant, a former foreign office minister and openly gay Labour MP. He added: “I hope that when [Russians] start seeing gay and lesbian couples getting married in the British consulate in Moscow they will celebrate rather than denigrate and persecute.”

Vitaly Milonov, the St Petersburg lawmaker who instigated the “gay propaganda” law in the city, was less supportive of the new legislation, telling The Moscow Times: “The British consulates can do whatever they want. They can marry monkeys and register perverts for all I care.”

The legislation is a surprising concession given the “gay propaganda” law passed in Russia last year. Under the law, spreading “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” is a criminal offence, with Russian law-breakers subject to fines of up to 5,000 roubles ($142) and foreigners at risk of arrest for up to 15 days and a fine of up to 100,000 roubles ($2,844). Other countries now hosting same sex weddings include Costa Rica, Kosovo, Azerbaijan and Japan.