Why Rsia Turned Agast The Gays

Contents:

• WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY
• WHY RSIA TURNED AGAST THE GAYS
• WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RSIA’S SO-CALLED ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ BILL
• ‘OUR MERE EXISTENCE IS ILLEGAL.’ AS MOSW TOUGHENS ANTI-GAY LAW, LGBTQ RSIANS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE

WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY

Gay rights activists take part the unthorized gay pri para central Mosw, Rsia on May 28, 2011. The banner centre reads, "Homophobia n be cured. Nearly three-quarters of Rsians believe that homosexually is morally unacceptable, more than disapprove of other hot-button issu such as extramaral affairs, gamblg and numbers e om newly released data om the Pew Rearch Center, which surveyed Rsians on their moral attus sprg 2013.

Rsian attus toward homosexualy have been at the foreont given the 2014 Wter Olympics Sochi. Jt eight months before the gam, Rsia's ernmental body, the Duma, passed a law makg illegal to distribute homosexual "propaganda" to mors, which clus stagg gay pri events and advotg for gay law also bans foreign same-sex upl om adoptg Rsian the openg day of the Olympics (Feb.

7), police arrted at least 14 gay rights activists St.

WHY RSIA TURNED AGAST THE GAYS

[5 Myths About Gay People Debunked]History of anti-gay attusUnrstandg Rsia's wispread gay sentiment requir a look back, said Tatiana Mikhailova, a senr stctor of Rsian Studi at the Universy of Colorado, Boulr.

Tradnal genr rol fell to revolutnary iology, and the fay stcture was seen as outdated, she the revolutn, Czarist Rsia was hardly iendly to gays. In 1716, homosexualy among ary men was ma punishable by floggg, rape and forced labor, acrdg to Dan Healy, a profsor of Rsian history at Oxford Universy.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RSIA’S SO-CALLED ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ BILL

In 1835, Czar Nicholas I extend the ban on male same-sex relatnships to revolutnari threw out the Czarist legal and drew up their own, which did not crimalize homosexualy. [Dictator Deaths: How 13 Notor Lears Died]This progrsive approach to homosexualy did not last long. Joseph Stal, who nsolidated power over the 1920s, and his secret police appotee, Genrikh Yagoda, drafted a new law penalizg homosexuals, whom they portrayed as spi and sundrels.

By 1934, homosexualy was aga illegal Rsia, wh a mimum sentence of three to five years prison. One reason, Mikhailova said, is the popular tenncy to nflate erroneoly homosexualy wh pedophilia and rape. [Unrstandg the 10 Most Dtctive Human Behavrs]Wh rape and homosexualy equated, 's easy for lears to sult gay people unapologetilly.

‘OUR MERE EXISTENCE IS ILLEGAL.’ AS MOSW TOUGHENS ANTI-GAY LAW, LGBTQ RSIANS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE

The head of the Rsian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill I, said July that gay marriage is a "very dangero apolyptic symptom. " And church lears regularly lk homosexualy wh pedophilia. "Where gays are allowed, pedophilia will soon flourish, " says Rsian Orthodox prit Sergei Rybko a new BBC documentary, "Hunted, " released this month, that explor vlence toward Rsian Rsian Orthodox Church is a major driver of anti-gay public opn, Mikhailova said, but there is a paradox at most untri, religsy is lked to anti-gay attus.

Among Amerins, 74 percent of nonrelig people approve of gay marriage, pared wh only 23 percent of whe evangelil Prottants, acrdg to a Pew survey. Likewise, the most relig untri tend to be ls acceptg of gay rights, Pew has (along wh Cha) is an outlier. Few Rsians say relign is central to their liv; the untry sr on par wh many Wtern European untri terms of lack of religsy, but only 9 percent of Rsians say homosexualy is acceptable the new survey.

Another 9 percent say homosexualy is not a moral issue, and 72 percent say beg gay is parison, 69 percent of Rsians say extramaral affairs are unacceptable, 62 percent disapprove of gamblg, and 44 percent say abortn is immoral.