Violence and Murder of LGBT on the Rise in Russia - TGV News

In the past, I wrote about homophobia in Russia and how gay pride was prevented with the LGBT community jailed. Sadly, things in Russia have become worse. President Vladimir Putin had signed into law with the backing of the Russian equivalent of Parliament (Federal Assembly and Duma) and the Russian Orthodox Church, many new anti-LGBT laws. It is not mentioned on any of the news networks, which are controlled by the Russian government.

The only US news I saw was on the matter was MSNBC's Lawrence O' Donnel's program when he interviewed gay actor Harvey Feinstein about how gay bars in the United States and Canada are boycotting and no longer selling Russian vodka in protest.

Feinstein compared Russia's anti-LGBT legislation as being similar to that of Nazi Germany, and I could not agree more.  I will explain that in more depth in a moment. President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation recently criminalized pro-gay language and policies in recent legislation. He has signed into law a ban on gay prides, gay adoptions, and "homosexual propaganda," that in other words is language that presents homosexuality in a positive light to minors according to The Week.
Foreigners who live in countries that have marriage equality are also forbidden from adopting children from Russia.  According to the New York Times, he has also criminalized homosexuality. Anyone suspected of being gay or are gay may be detained in jail for a length of time.

Actor Harvey Feinstein said recently,

"With Russia about to hold the Winter Games in Sochi, the country is open to pressure. American and world leaders must speak out against Mr. Putin's attacks and the violence they foster. The Olympic Committee must demand the retraction of these laws under threat of boycott. In 1936 the world attended the Olympics in Germany. Few participants said a word about Hitler's campaign against the Jews. Supporters of that decision point proudly to the triumph of Jesse Owens, while I point with dread to the Holocaust and world war. There is a price for tolerating intolerance." [New York Times]

The Russian Orthodox Church is extremely homophobic and does not believe homosexuality is compatible with the Bible and teachings of the church and therefore an abominable sin from their point of view. Indeed, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch, stated that marriage equality around the world is a sign of the Apocalypse. However, this is not the worst of it. Gay men are being murdered in Russia now. This is what homophobia does: it incites fear and desire to attack those blamed for Russia's economic woes and political corruption.

It gives Putin a scapegoat. Recently, neo-Nazi groups in Russia have taken to social media to attack gay teens. According to LGBT Nation, this group intends to "bully, kidnap, and publicly torture" homosexuals. It has led to suicides of such affected teens. They lure unsuspected victims through personal ads and the teens meet the person for what he or she assume is a date. Then, "captured, bullied and 'often tortured while being recorded on video.' These atrocities are sometimes performed in the open before an indifferent and even supportive public."

The Neo-Nazis claim they are fighting pedophilia and post these videos on VK.com, the Russian equivalent of Facebook.

Disclaimer: The following link is one of these torture sessions and so it is best that to want to avoid watching it if you are sensitive to violence, but it cuts out when the violence begins:

 

According to SPHA (Spectrum Human Rights Alliance), the violence is being led by "infamous Russian ultra nationalist and former skinhead, Maxim Martsinkevich," known as "Cleaver." According to NBC News, in May, a 23 year-old man was killed because he was gay on Victory Day, a holiday, in Volgograd. In June, another murder of a gay man occurred in Kamchatka. As of last report, six more gay men have been murdered as of this report and the Russian government is doing nothing about it. While the majority of people in the United States support equality for the LGBT community, it is the opposite in Russia. In the country, 88% of the people support Russia's new hateful anti-LGBT legislation. This is probably because  the powerful influence of the Russian Orthodox Church has over the people, and as I previously said, the Church is vehemently anti-LGBT.
The question is what LGBT people do about it to help our LGBT kindred in Russia. One is to help them get asylum in other countries, get their stories out to the world, and instead of boycotting the Sochi Olympics, LGBT Nation suggests doing the following and in order for this to happen, we must be loud and have our voices heard:

"Don't boycott the games—'gay' them up. Ask for all nations supporting marriage equality to carry the rainbow flag with their nation's flag. Ask all athletes with LGBT friends, family, or relations to come out and wear a flag, and most importantly, tell their stories."
"Don't boycott vodka, but give the suppliers the chance to run LGBT education programs in Russia. Give  them the chance to educate their public and put their money where their mouth is; if they do, buy more vodka."

Cull the genius brainpower from Facebook pages like Wipe Out Homophobia, Gay Marriage USA and The Equality Mantra, and formulate ways to distribute the LGBT love and family stories in Russian to Russia, to reach an unaware populace.

Restrict the travel privileges of Russian government officials and business people to the West. The LGBT groups in Russia are asking for this, and we should respond.
Contact all the U.S. businesses doing commerce in Russia. We need to stop doing business with these entities as well if they do not include LGBT education with their capitalism.

"President Obama and Secretary John Kerry must be our mouthpieces. They need not only to condemn the actions in Russia, they need to use their bully pulpits to educate."

 

Editors Note: We would like to extend a special thank you to Cher for turning down the opportunity to open the Olympics in Russia. 

About Joshua Spencer

I am a writer for the Gay Voice since April 2013. I have contributed book reviews for The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns and wrote for Child of God Online from 2007-10 as the primary writer. I published my first article in the Christian Union Witness titled "Coat of Many Colors" in 1998. I am a gay Christian, which probably sounds strange to some of you, but it is possible to be both, and I come from a liberal theological tradition. I've worked as a librarian for 4 years and a substitute teacher for 8 years. I have a BA in History and Anthropology and two Master of Education degrees. I'm currently working on a Mastery of Theology: Ethics degree and may pursue a PhD at some point in a social sciences field. I'm also working on publishing 2 books.

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