Putin’s homophobic crackdown
A state-sponsored wave of homophobic terror and repression is sweeping Russia. The extent of the brutality and viciousness of the attacks are staggering. The Russian government has passed a raft of highly discriminatory laws.
In June, a 100-year ban on gay rights parades was instituted in Moscow. Adoption by LGBTI Russians has been made illegal, as has “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors” – which essentially criminalises anyone expressing support for LGBTI rights, and attempts to link LGBTI rights to child abuse.
The discrimination has aided and strengthened repression on the streets, which is often carried out by organised fascists. LGBTI clubs are routinely attacked and ransacked. Protesters attempting to challenge the bigotry and the draconian laws are often brutally attacked by fascists, the police or both simultaneously.
Murder, torture or abduction are reported every few months; organised neo-Nazis such as the group “Occupy Paedophilia” have been using online networks to deceive and lure LGBTI teenagers to meetings where they torture and kill them, uploading videos on YouTube. The situation is extremely grim.
It is clear that this homophobic crackdown is driven from the top of society and has been getting worse over time. The long-term strategy of the Russian ruling class, pursued since the collapse of the USSR and especially since President Vladimir Putin came to power, has been to ferment intense nationalism.
In the wake of economic collapse, poverty and widespread alienation in the 1990s, nationalism was used in an attempt to divert social explosions that might pit workers against the government or private industry. The stoking of nationalism occurs on two fronts in particular: glorification of Russian imperialism and history, and an enormous revival of Orthodox Christianity.
Religious nationalism has invoked extremely conservative values, in particular in relation to women’s and LGBTI rights. The leadership of the Russian church has been a key ally of the state in spreading sexist and homophobic attitudes across the country, in particular its current head Patriarch Kirill (who was also for years a suspected KGB agent and has, on the side, made over a billion dollars using his Church position to import and sell tax-free cigarettes).
There is also a more immediate reason for the intensified crackdown, which has to do with the widespread anti-corruption protests against the Putin regime last year. The government was terrified of escalation and a “Russian Tahrir”. As the protests subsided, the attacks and retaliations by the government escalated. Several dozen leading activists have been arrested and threatened with decades in jail. Some have fled and tried to seek political asylum in other countries.
Along with the homophobic laws, many other laws restricting freedom of speech and assembly have been and are being passed. The government is doing its best to fragment and isolate any possible emerging opposition to its rule – scapegoating has always been a favourite of the Russian tsars, old and new.
Another barrage of repression, less reported in the media, has been directed against immigrants. Those without valid papers are rounded up by police and interned in “security camps”, where they face abominable conditions until they are deported. There are currently 83 such camps around Russia, and authorities are promising to escalate the crackdown significantly, amid an atmosphere of seething racism.
However, despite the best efforts of the government, the protests have not completely disappeared. There are continuing mobilisations around science funding, education, environmental issues, migrants’ rights and LGBTI rights. Small strikes involving auto workers, doctors and janitors have also taken place recently.
As Russia’s Winter Olympics focus more attention on Putin’s repression, we must give any solidarity we can to all those in the Russian LGBTI community who stand up and fight for their rights.
