Understanding Vladimir

Understanding Vladimir A report of the futile protests against Vladimir Putin’s ban on ‘gay propaganda’

The Western world truly does love to play the critic. Haven’t you noticed? And it seems that Vladimir Putin’s ‘anti-LGBT propaganda’ law is one of the latest victims. Despite reviving the Russian economy during his first term, Putin’s recent policies saw the West’s cart of respect for him rolling swiftly downhill. His latest bit of legislation, inflicted upon the LGBT community of Russia just months ago, has provoked the Western world to hold up its banners in protest. The new restraints have stimulated endless campaigns and heaps of petitions, as Putin confronts outraged disapproval from both celebrities and politicians. But consider this: what if the protests aren’t changing anything? What if the protests are actually encouraging Putin? Think about it. As a county, Russia’s relationship with homosexuality hasn’t quite worked out so far, but there is something that many protesters don’t notice about this particular anti-gay legislation. That it is a part of Putin’s agenda – designed to be intentionally anti-Western. By antagonising left-wing westerners through his actions, Putin strengthens his position as the leader of a right-wing country. And what, exactly, does this “anti-LBGT propaganda law” involve, you’re probably wondering. Basically, it enforces the illegality of LBGT symbols in public and the removal of LBGT awareness from school curriculums. Essentially, under this policy: any verbal defence of gay rights is illegal; the organisation of gay pride parades is illegal, and to equate homosexuality with heterosexuality is illegal. Russia is still in the early stages of showing any form of leniency. It was not until 1993 that homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia – late in comparison to Britain, which did so in the 60s. And it was only in 1999 that the state declassified it as a mental illness. It is with insufficient knowledge of this homophobic history that most protesters battle against Russia’s anti-gay policy. And no wonder their stabs of criticism – targeted at a nation they fail to understand, yet attempt so devotedly to change - come across as short sighted and serve only to fuel the fire of passionate Russian nationalism. Back in 2008, Putin observed as his approval ranking gradually declined, and by 2012 the president’s firm grasp on Russia was shaken by a wave of anti-Putin protests – most drawing crowds of over 10, 000. According to analyst Masha Lipman, (of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) Putin sought to redeem his status and succeeded in doing so by reminding his people of what it means to be a “good Russian” citizen. This notion was modelled after Putin’s own depiction of the perfect Russian man, who remained faithful to “traditional values”. Such a character would most likely be a right-wing Nationalist, of course, providing that he be anti-American too. He opposes both Western ideologies and homosexuality. And through his respectable heterosexual relationship he proudly produces many children, raising them all to adopt the “good Russian” mentality as well. And it was based on the very same "good Russian" character, that president Putin introduced the anti-gay law, alongside other laws, in a range of right-wing policies. And the majority of Russians gladly approved. Following the new law’s creation a survey was organised by the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre, revealing that a strong majority of over 85% of voters were in favour of the new policies. With the help of this vast popularity, Putin effectively contrasts the Western world from a post-communist Russian society, comparing their ideologies and defining modern Russia. Back in December 2013, during the Russian Federal Assembly, president Putin expressed that the West’s increasing tolerance of homosexuality was inferior to Russia’s own “traditional values”. And Russia has been pushing for the maintenance of these values on an international scale as well –encouraging that the UN pass a legislation to maintain both traditional and cultural values. And it is through failing to recognise these dearly held values while attacking the decision on the anti-gay law, that westerners validate the picture that Putin has drawn of the West — a demoralised, godless society of corrupted capitalism, where homosexuals are free to do and say as they please. If the West truly does wish to rid Russia of this unfashionable policy, they must first recognise and accept that their tendency of repressing minorities will take a long time, if ever, to fade away. The vicious loop of hostility that homosexuals are now subject to in Russia is conveyed by Independent Russian news channel ‘Dozhd’ through the story of a young girl: A 15 year old 9th grader from west Russia, Bryansk Oblast, was charged following her confession to being lesbian. And seeing as she’s underage, officials were unsure as to whether or not the anti-gay propaganda law should be applied to the situation. The girl described that she was exposed by a boy in her class upon spotting her on an LGBT community support forum. Unfortunately for her, the boy – being an activist for anti-gay rights – informed the school officials as well as the girl’s parents, and this gave way to a somewhat hostile meeting where she felt besieged by school officials and police. The girl then admitted to the accusations, and the police supplied her with a writ before exposing her to the rest of the school. She explained to Dozhd how the police demand that she find a psychologist and disable her access to the internet, without anyone to defend her. According to Putin the legislation’s primary and A-1 purpose was to “protect children”. So it seems both ironic and hypocritical that because of this, a young girl is facing exclusion from her local community through the eyes of the law. Following the police’s failure to assist her in finding a psychologist, the girl resulted to contacting a support group known as Children-404 through the Russian social network site ‘Vkontakte’. Children-404, created by Elena Klimova, was tailored specifically for LGBT minors in need of help, and was exactly what she was looking for. But it was not long after her discovery that Children-404 fell under attack from the arsenal of right-wing politician Vitaly Milonov. Soon Elena Klimova explained to Dozhd that she had received an official warning from Milonov, tagging her group as a breach of the law and telling the police that Children-404 supported gay propaganda amongst minors. Subsequent to these accusations creator Klimova faced a staggering fine of 100,000 Russian rubles (around £1700 at the time) for supporting the "gay propaganda” and spreading it via social media. This is just one story of many, where the new law is being fired at the Russian LGBT community like bullets. In this case a 15 year old girl seeking guidance through the internet was exposed by a homophobic fellow pupil, charged by the police and shunned by her community and left to watch the as only society she could retreat to had been attacked. The scale of oppression currently taking place in Russia is both ruthless and complex. Which is why the Western world must soon come to understand: that Russia’s homophobic attitude will not disappear due to criticism; that no matter how many protests we organise, no matter how many angry articles we write about them, it won’t work. What Russia really needs, is time. We should all take a note from ‘ThinkProgress’ blogger Travis Waldron – in understanding that changing Russia will be “a long fight that won’t be won through protests”. Perhaps a real change will only occur through events similar to those that encouraged the support of LGBT in the West. Despite the brutality of the situation in Russia, the Western world should recognise through its own history with homosexuality that change is a slow process that cannot be rushed, especially in a society where many of the people wouldn’t give it a second thought.

Word count: 1289

Bibliography: http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/02/07/3258761/russia-lgbt-law-olympics/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/05/russia-anti-gay-law-criticism-playing-into-putin-hands

http://prezi.com/85dzvtflwesx/putin-on-the-ritz/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia#Propaganda_bans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%9313_Russian_protests#4_February_2012

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/31/world/europe/russia-gay-propaganda-law/

http://www.salon.com/2013/06/27/putin_law_restricting_gay_rights_in_russia_is_about_protecting_children/

http://www.examiner.com/article/russia-ninth-grade-girl-accused-of-violating-anti-gay-propaganda-law