A quick search recently for LGBT news on Yandex – the largest Russiansearch engine – threw up a very depressing list: “Users are outraged by the new LGBT-friendly ad for iPhone”, “Russian actor gets kicked out after supporting LGBT people”, “Berlinale-2018: perverts and russophobes are occupying modern cinema”.
A whole stack of news is dedicated to a new online game called “Play for the President: help Putin kill naked men with a rainbow flag”. The game allows you to become “a former KGB agent” and destroy “enemies of the state”, which “naturally” includes the LGBT community, opposition leader Navalny and US President Donald Trump. It reminds me of another recent game published by a popular Russian news site Lenta.ru, where readers were asked to like photos of celebrities who were “lucky enough” to be “raped and made famous” by Harvey Weinstein.
In other countries such online games might have caused a big backlash from the public and commercial partners, but in Russia for many they seem to serve as yet another reinforcement of a very conservative and disempowering belief system. A system in which women are given flowers but also beaten by their husbands, and where it’s widely believed that the immoral influence of the LGBT community should be immediately mitigated for the sake of the children.
Meanwhile, Russia is heading for presidential elections beginning 18 March. Even though on the surface it may seem that LGBT issues are not on the agenda of any of the candidates, including Putin, if you look closer it feels like their stance on LGBT rights remains central to the stability of the Russian government.
Evidence to this is an allegedly state funded election video, which went live three weeks ago, urging Russians to go out and vote. In the video, viewers are shown an alternative reality in which the newly elected government openly supports LGBT rights and lets black people serve in its forces. The video intends to scare voters who are doubting whether to vote for the current political setup and might support more liberal thinking candidates. Read more via Independent