A Sat Petersburg urt led last week that two lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) social media groups vlated Rsia’s notor “gay propaganda” law and orred the s shuttered.
Contents:
- ‘THEY STARVE YOU. THEY SHOCK YOU’: INSI THE ANTI-GAY POGROM CHECHNYA
- AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY, RSIAN NEO-NAZI
- 'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY
- ‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA
‘THEY STARVE YOU. THEY SHOCK YOU’: INSI THE ANTI-GAY POGROM CHECHNYA
Usg classic K.G.B. tactics, secury officers lured gay men to traps and tortured them to givg up the inti of others like them. * gay group russia *
The European Court of Human Rights led 2017 that the 2013 law is discrimatory, promot homophobia and vlat the European Conventn on Human Rights. The urt found that the law “served no legimate public tert, ” rejectg suggtns that public bate on LGBT issu uld fluence children to bee homosexual, or that threatened public morals.
Homosexualy was crimalized Rsia 1993, but homophobia and discrimatn is still rife. Speakg before Put signed the bill to the law on Monday, Tanya Loksha, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: “The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of polil homophobia, and the new draft legislatn amplifi that broar and harsher ways.
It was a faiar rendn of Put’s bgo rd of geopolil rentments—and then he transned to the issue of gay and transgenr rights. He portrayed the war as a stggle between those seekg to reject Wtern valu and gay pri paras held as, his words, “loyalty tt[s]” to Wtern ernments.
AN INTERVIEW WH A GAY, RSIAN NEO-NAZI
Receivg photos of mutilated bodi wh the warng "you're next" rattled gay rights activist Nika Toov but when he saw surveillance men outsi his home, he fled Rsia for good. * gay group russia *
Kreml officials seized on the ia of banng “gay propaganda, ” takg an obscure law that had been gag steam regnal legislatur sce 2006 and passg at the feral level 2013.
The vaguely word law prohibs any discsns of homosexualy plac or formats that may be accsible to mors, cludg the media and onle. It was, as later scribed by Human Rights Watch, a “classic example of polil homophobia” for “polil ga. Acrdg to Rsian media monorg anizatn Medialogiya, reports about homosexualy skyrocketed om jt 11 2011 to more than 160 2013.
The gay propaganda law 2013 rved a path that Rsian tanks wish they had Ukrae. The media verage that followed the passage of the gay propaganda law 2013 set the tone for the rise hate crim that was to follow. In 2016, Dmry Tsilik, a proment art and culture cric who was gay, was stabbed more than 30 tim by a man he met on an onle datg se.
'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY
“Over the past two to three years, this hatred has grown all directns, cludg, unfortunately, towards gay people. In 2021, Hungary’s nservative ernment passed a gay propaganda law very siar to Rsia’s while Romania is weighg s own.
Rsia’s weaponizatn of gay rights transformed the issue to a new geopolil flt le, Kondakov said.
But for the young man who lls himself Maksim, as for sr of other gay men arrted a pogrom this month Rsia’s Chechnya regn, pivoted to nearly two weeks of beatgs and said had started wh a chat room nversatn wh “a very good old iend who is also gay, ” and who suggted that they meet at an apartment. ”Gay men have never had an easy life Chechnya.
‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA
But the targeted, llective punishment of gays that began last month unr s pro-Kreml lear, Ramzan A.
Kadyrov, is a new turn the regn’s long history of rights Gazeta, an opposn newspaper, first reported the pogrom, sayg that at least 100 gay men had been arrted and three killed the roundup. The victims e assumed nam their everyday followg acunt is based on terviews wh Maksim, who is his 20s, and two other gay men who were taed by Chechen secury agents. Homosexualy is taboo Chechnya and the mostly Mlim surroundg areas of the Cs regn southern Rsia.
“This society is highly homophobic, ” said Ekatera L. “Homosexualy is nmned. ”Neverthels, before the crackdown, gay men Chechnya uld at least lead social liv, if heavily closeted on, Maksim said.