Transgender politician from Russia said he returned to his biological sex, NOVA reported, referring to BTA.
His message is unusual given the repression against the rights of representatives of the LGBTIQ+ community in the country.
Roman Alyoshin, who previously went by the name Yulia Alyoshina and last year was a candidate for governor of a region in Siberia, said he made this decision during the Orthodox fast after a period of "spiritual torment".
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"I looked through old albums of my ancestors, I prayed about them and it helped me to convince myself that I am a man," Alyoshin wrote in Telegram. "I am a patriot, that's why I live in Russia. I apologize to the entire Russian people!", his post also says.
Alyoshin, who is believed to be the first openly transgender political figure in Russia, did not respond to a request by “Reuters” for comment on her decision to revert to her biological sex. Although she identifies as female, Alyoshin withdrew her candidacy for governor of Siberia's Altai Krai in July last year, citing Russian law that prohibits legal and surgical gender reassignment. Alyoshin has previously appeared dressed in dresses and with shoulder-length blond hair. Now in his Telegram profile picture he has short-cut hair.
Over the past decade, Russia has engaged in a large-scale crackdown on the rights of the LGBT community, which President Vladimir Putin presents as evidence of moral decay in Western countries.