As Russia continues to crack down on LGBTQ+ lives, one transgender woman has told PinkNews how she was forced to undergo conversion therapy, which involved “masculinity training”, and being ordered to castrate a pig. Before coming out, Ada Blakewell was inspired by stories of trans people who had shared their truth with their parents and found acceptance. Her own “deeply religious” parents are members of the Russian Orthodox Church, however, and coming out to them did not go as planned. “I was told that [being trans] is a poison by the devil, that Western culture has poisoned my brain,” Ada says.