 Putin mentioned his KGB past and shows support for LGBT community. In his address to the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly mentioned his former work for the Committee for State Security. He also made a statement in support of the LGBT community. Putin recalled his KGB past as he was commenting on a ban on Russian television channels in Italy. He asked if we know how it is done. As a former KGB officer, I know how to do it. But we don't, he said. His response was met with fawning smiles and applause from the audience. The Russian President also spoke out in support of representatives of the LGBT community. Putin began by saying that in order to win cultural competitions in the West, he imagines it is necessary to talk about, write or show something from the lives of sexual minorities, and genders and other transformers. I'm going to say something unexpected. They too, these topics and these people, have the right to win competitions, to show and to tell their stories. Because this is a part of society too. It's how some people live. It's bad if they are the only ones to win all these competitions. We don't want that. But this desire for equality, this equality should be everywhere in everything, especially cultural competitions, Putin said. Russia now has a law banning so-called LGBT propaganda, which applies to any statements supportive of the LGBT community. Furthermore, Putin's speech was made on the same day that Russia's Ministry of Justice appealed to the Supreme Court, demanding that the international LGBT social movement be recognised as extremist. But we don't do that.