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2
All of Putins's anti-gay bullshit is extra shitty considering the fact that Russian heterosexuals are "underperforming" and the population is in a precipitous decline.
5
It's not just Putin. Most of the country seems to support it, perpetuating stereotypes of ultra-macho, but ultimately very insecure, Russians.
4
Just a theory here, but I think that to fix Russia's brutal treatment of gays many other things need to be fixed first. When you have a society where the majority of people are living in poverty (even more so than the US, which is saying something), any political dissent is crushed, and there seems to be no hope for improvement people get to a point where they want to lash out violently at something. And if what you're really angry with is too powerful to ever attack you take your frustration out on somebody weaker, which in this instance would be the gay community. The violent anti-gay atmosphere in Russia will not go away without serious socioeconomic reforms to their society as a whole.
When you have a society where the majority of people are living in poverty (even more so than the US, which is saying something), any political dissent is crushed, and there seems to be no hope for improvement people get to a point where they want to lash out violently at something.
Isn't this just History of Russia 101?
2
I wonder what it is like in other parts of Eastern Europe and the former Russian federation. Back in 1995, I did this project where I interviewed people that were involved in LGBT activism and women's rights and there was a pretty big variation. I interviewed this one woman in Czechoslovakia that was the first one to ever go on nation television to declare that she was a Lesbian—just a few years ago, even the most sympathetic countries (ie Czechoslovakia and Hungary—the most liberal of the Eastern Bloc countries) put them into hospitals when they came out. She said people were very cool and supportive—though recognizing that she was a pretty young woman and that made a difference.
On the other hand, in Poland, I met a guy who was member of Lambda in Krakow who chained smoked, referenced that there was like one underground club in the whole country (I don't think there was anything in Warsaw either—though then you'd find a club in Ryga, Latvia, which was much more liberal) and he lived in physical fear of coming out. The feminists I met in Krakow were more optimistic though incredibly marginalized—Hilary came and spoke in Krakow while I was there!—most Polish people I met laughed when I discussed Polish feminism.
It's interesting because unlike the US, they didn't have civil rights movements—the primary struggle was against Communist government (further complicated as in Poland, in that the primary organization opposing Communism was the Catholic church which now has cultural primacy and its own restrictions). There has been uneven civil rights movement throughout the area and always these expectations that even though the last century, they have had vastly different history than Western Europe, they would have the same social attitudes and the opposers of progress would have the same form and function than institutions in Western Europe and the US.
It seems to me to be very complicated as I've always met very progressive and courageous people in Eastern Europe and from the Russian Federation and former USSR that fought for progressive politics in a society that is only learning to know where to place them, given the rapid shifting of their system of government. Russia has been very troubling, in Putin's control of the government and their civil rights issues, but it's also hard to see western critiques of Russia from observers that don't provide context. I'm not saying it should be excused, I just don't find it is often explained well, especially in a society that relies on decontextualized soundbites.
I'm ending by saying, Rich, this is a great series. I also would love to see a longform type article about gay people in Russia that would also provide that understanding. I think it'd be interesting to see as well, how and why has their been uneven progress in human rights throughout the former Soviet Bloc.
