Russia will not play “dangerous gender games”, the head of its upper house of parliament said in a vehement attack on sexual minorities in a message marking International Women’s Day, one of the most celebrated public holidays in the country. Making any expression of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lifestyle is almost impossible in Russia, which under its “gay propaganda” law bans the distribution of materials on non-traditional relationships among any age group and the promotion of homosexual relationships to children. There are people with gender “anomalies” but the “tyranny of minorities” cannot happen, said Valentina Matviyenko, a staunch ally of President Vladimir Putin and as the Federation Council’s chair considered Russia’s most powerful woman.