Russia’s upper house of parliament gave its final approval in late November to a new legislative package that toughens an existing law on so-called “LGBTQ propaganda,” and it was signed into law Monday by President Vladimir Putin.‘We expect a new wave of hatred’ The new legislative package ratchets up the country’s existing ban on spreading so-called “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors, making it illegal to share any information across all media and all ages.Moscow-based publisher Eksmo took preemptive measures by censoring some fragments of the book “Shattered,” which contains descriptions of sexual scenes between two men, even before the law was finalized.As human rights activists anticipate censorship in the form of blocked websites, banned books and regular fines, LBGTQ bloggers and content creators are making their social media channels private and deleting posts, according to the Sphere Foundation, an organization that defends the rights of LGBTQ people in Russia and has launched a petition against the new bill.“We expect a new wave of hatred,” Alexander Belik, head of the Sphere Foundation’s advocacy program, told CNN."