On the recent 50th anniversary of Stonewall riots it is worthwhile to remember that violence against LGBT-community remains an issue. In some states, as Russia, this violence is a result of dedicated governmental policy and centralized use of hate speech by media. In his latest interview to Financial Times V.Putin, who has openly expressed anti-LGBT position on numerous times, claims “we have no problem with LGBT persons” – and with restrictive legislation and persecution of this community in Chechnya nothing could be further from truth.
The Kremlin has long been demonizing LGBT-community as a part of broader campaign to create the image of hostile West, which aims to destroy – culturally as well – Russia. The goal behind this campaign is to solidify popular support for authoritarian government which is portrayed as the “strong hand” capable of protecting Russian state against the alleged attempts to undermine it.
Take a look at what Russian officials say about LGBT and how state-controlled media amplifies these narratives for political goals.
