Estonia becomes first former Soviet country to legalize same-sex marriage

Estonia’s parliament has passed a law legalizing same-sex marriages, making it the first former Soviet country to do so. The law, which received support from 55 of the parliament’s 101 deputies (34 voted against the measure), will come into effect on January 1, 2024.

Lawmaker Eduard Odinets, a member of the Social Democratic Party, called the law a “truly historic moment,” saying that it shows Estonia is “definitively doing away with the Soviet space of values and culture.”

Other deputies rejected the idea that turning away from Estonia’s Soviet past entails supporting marriage equality. “Do you really have the mentality of people who believe that marriage as a union between a man and a woman is some kind of specific phenomenon of Soviet culture?” said lawmaker Varro Vooglaid, a member of the Conservative People’s Party.

The new law will also make it possible for same-sex couples to adopt children.