As a Russian history major in college, I am fully aware that Russia has plenty of dark and evil events in its history. In this modern age, one would think that a nation that claims to be modern the return of religious fueled evil would not be taking place. Sadly, politicians eager to win the backing of the Russian Orthodox Church (which has a horrible history of siding with despots and whipping up anti-Jewish pogroms) have jumped fully on board the train to make gays and homosexuality scape goats to distract the Russian populace of the huge problems plaguing Russia. With the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church spewing anti-gay statements and nasty individuals like Vladimir Putin taking advantage of the situation, gays are now open game for abuse, murder and criminal prosecution. Things are so bad that Canada recently issued a tourism advisory recommending that gays not travel to Russia. Perhaps worse of all is the fact that with the tacit blessing of the Russian Orthodox Church, those who torment, torture or even kill gays feel justified in what they do. Religion - and the politicians who are only too happy prostitute themselves to extremists - proves itself again to be a great force for evil. Here are highlights from a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle:
While we were initially hesitant to publish the video, the fact is that the video is everywhere now and it would be futile to try and hide it.
We reached out to Larry Poltavtsev, a U.S.-based tech entrepreneur who was one of the first people to bring the video to the attention of the English-speaking world, with the help of his Spectrum Human Rights Alliance. Poltavtsev helped explain why the video was so horrifying.
In the video, which appears to have been shot in the winter in the suburbs of a Russian city, a 15-year-old boy has been lured to a meeting place by the fictional online persona "Uncle Dima." However, once he is there he is met by a gang of young men and women. These young men and women apparently created a fake "Uncle Dima" account on VK, a Russian social network similar to Facebook, to lure the young boy to the meeting place.
Clearly under duress, the 15-year-old is then forced to "confess" to being a homosexual. He is forced to reveal his full name, the school he goes to, his parents' names, home address, etc.
Perhaps what is most remarkable about the video is that the gang that attacks the boy clearly feels proud of their actions. A number appear clearly in the video, and while one does wear a mask at one point, this may be more for intimidation. At another point an older lady comes into the frame, and she commends the gang for their actions, and tells the boy to be ashamed of himself.
According to Poltavtsev, the video is part of a wider problem. A former skinhead who has faced jail time for neo-Nazi crimes, Maxim Martsinkevich, has been the ringleader in two projects: "Occupy Pedophilyaj" and "Occupy Gerontilyaj." While these projects ostensibly have the aim of catching pedophiles, in reality, Poltavtsev says, fake VK profiles are used to find and publicly humiliate young gay men. The police do little to help, Poltavtsev says, and besides, most young men are too afraid to go public about the crimes. "Being outed in a small Russian town is like being killed," Poltavtsev said. "So, many resort to a suicide."
Poltavtsev says that largely the Russian media hasn't touched the subject, with a couple of notable exceptions. Earlier this month Lenta.ru sent a reporter to the Urals, one of the places where the "Occupy Pedophilyaj" movement was strongest, to investigate. "If I had it my way, we would kill [homosexuals]," one member of the group tells the journalist. Another Russian story says that the victims are sometimes as young as 11 years old.
It's hard to watch this video and agree with people who feel that Russia is being unfairly portrayed as homophobic.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee is too spineless to tell Russia that the 2014 Winter Games will be moved to another site if the laws are not repealed. I am not saying the games need to be cancelled or boycotted. The venue needs to be moved and Putin and Russia humiliated in the process. Otherwise, the International Olympic Committee will be acting as it did in the 1930's when the Summer Games were held in Hitler's Germany.
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