LGBT Rights in Russia - Essay Example

LGBT Rights in Russia Russia is a Eurasian which has a long history of being the bulwark of European conservatism, both at a political and social level. Russia is a federation of peoples from many cultures and these span an area stretching from Eastern Europe across the whole of northern Asia. This state has, from its beginnings, been based on the autocratic system, in one form or the other, where an individual holds almost absolute power over every one of its institutions. While in some instances this system of government had led to the suffering of the majority of the Russian population, who were for the most part serfs, it also led to the rise of the state as a great European power. This allowed the Russian empire to project its power not only into Europe but also deep into Asia, where most of the country’s landmass lies. While this may be the case, the autocratic system of government has, throughout its history to the modern times, also allowed for the abuse of the rights of many of its citizens. These abuses range from the lack of political freedom to the gagging of the media so that no credible information ever goes out to the public or to the international community concerning the real situation in Russia. The power of the state, as seen above, remains absolute, and the fact that most of the pertinent decisions are made by the president and a small kitchen cabinet has led to the aggravation of the human rights abuses against the Russian people. The Russian government has been involved in the abuse of the rights of the gay community within it, and this has been done through the introduction of laws which have led to the outright discrimination of this community. The absolute power of the state of the state has ensured that it has been able to develop anti-gay laws which are completely discriminatory towards the gay people in Russia. This has created a situation where many people of homosexual inclination within the country have been forced to hide their orientation for fear that they might become victims of the anti-gay propaganda that has become prevalent. However, while the government has and continues to be a foremost perpetrator of the discrimination against gay people in the country, there has also developed an increasing threat from many of the ultranationalist groups that have come into existence (Anderson, 2013). The members of these groups have been known to attack, murder and display other forms of violence against gay people in the belief that the latter are going against the cultural values of Russia by being open about their sexual orientation. The fact that some cultural values can be discriminatory towards some members of the society does not seem to occur to them, with a majority holding the belief that gay people in Russia have to be exterminated (Mertus, 2007). Moreover, the government has been a passive supporter of the actions of ultranationalist gangs through not taking any of the cases concerning the victimization of gay people seriously. The fact that the government is able to stand by and do nothing to contain abuses against its citizens, despite their being gay, is evidence that these gangs are conducting their activities with its approval. The Russian state is one of the biggest perpetrators of abuses against the gay people living in the country and this discrimination seems to be done with the intention of ensuring that they are completely suppressed. The fact that the state is the main sponsor of laws which prevent gay people from being open about their orientation and from having the same rights as other Russians has become a source of widespread concern for the gay community in Russia (Miller, et al. 2009). The government has worked towards portraying homosexuality as being foreign to Russian cultural values and that it is propaganda from the decadent West which seeks to undermine the Russian state and people. While these claims by government officials can be considered to be preposterous, the fact remains that many Russians have come to be influenced by them and recent years have seen many individuals being openly discriminatory towards gay people (Horne, Ovrebo, Levitt & Franeta, 2009). Gay people in Russia have come to be labeled as foreign agents whose aim is to bring chaos to Russia through the spread of gay propaganda that corrupts Russian people, especially the children. The fact that many gay people are not even politically active and whose only wish is to be accepted in the society is hardly ever taken into account and this has created a lot of problems for gay people in Russia. One would say that it has become very dangerous to be gay in Russia since the laws which have been passed by the Russian parliament against them as well as the actions of ultranationalist groups have made being gay taboo in the society. Russia is a signatory of several human rights documents such as Universal declaration of Human Rights as well as the European Convention on Human Rights, but while this may be the case, the Russian state has not necessarily been bound by these international laws in its treatment of the gay community (Simon, 2009). Instead, despite being bound by these laws which prohibit any form of violation of the rights of individuals within Russia, the government has gone ahead and passed laws which are in contravention with international laws. Russia has completely disregarded the abovementioned human rights laws, both binding and non-binding in its bid to ensure that the gay community is completely suppressed within the state (Austin, 2013). The importance of international laws when dealing with gay rights in Russia has been ignored as the government has continued to determinedly move ahead with its agenda, which is the total removal of the gay people and voice from the society. The fact that in June 2013, the Russian parliament passed a law banning any form of propaganda aimed at minors and promoting nontraditional sexual preferences is one of the steps that the government has taken against gay people. That this law is in contravention of the basic human rights of all the gay people in Russia has not been put into consideration and the fact has remained that it is being ruthlessly enforced. Many Russians of gay orientation have over the past few months found themselves in trouble for the most minor of offences and this has been because of the overzealousness of government officials and law enforcement agencies in their bid to enforce the antigay propaganda law. Because of the vague wording in the law, government officials have made broad interpretations concerning it and the arrests and prosecutions that have been taking place have ensured that the voice of the gay community within Russia has been stifled (Healey, 2012). The ability of the state to disregard international laws that protect the rights of its people has created a situation where it has now become possible for the Russian government to continue conducting its repression of the gay community in its territory without any serious consequences from the international community. The international response to the abuse of the gay community in Russia has been extremely vocal, with many international organizations stating that Russia’s actions have no place in the twenty first century. The Russian government has largely ignored this condemnation stating that the gay community has no place in Russia, a nation which is based on the good traditional values. Such organizations as Human Rights Watch have given Russia very low rankings in comparison to other European states, in matters concerning the implementation human rights, especially towards the gay community (Carter, 2013). There is widespread belief that the Russian state is using the antigay propaganda law as a means of diverting the attention of its people from the main domestic problems that they face such as the rising cost of living as well as an increasingly repressive government. In addition, this law has come to be used as a propaganda tool of the Russian government in the international scene so that it can gain the complete support of its people in the pursuit of its foreign policies. Many western governments have come to condemn the antigay actions of the Russian government and have not only declared their support for the gay community in Russia but have also encouraged the Russian government to repeal the law, which they have stated is highly discriminatory (Glasser, 2013). The opportunity of the international community to influence the Russian government to repeal the antigay propaganda law came as the Sochi Winter Olympics of 2014 approached. Many of the western states had declared that they would boycott the Olympics if the law was not repealed, but all of these threats were averted when the Russian president guaranteed that none of the athletes who attended the games would be subjected to the law. The fact that the Winter Olympics went smoothly and that the Russian president used a brilliant public relations strategy towards the western athletes who attended the games ensured that the international community’s opportunity to denounce the law was lost. With the end of the Olympics, there has been a return to the vigorous enforcement of the antigay propaganda law with very little being said by western governments and organizations that has come close to deterring the Russian government’s determination to crackdown on the freedoms of the gay community in Russia. The domestic reaction to the abuses of the gay people through the passage of the law has, in general been in support of the government stance. For most Russians, being gay is considered to be highly immoral and a character flow in gay individuals. There is also the belief, encouraged by the government, that being gay is a sign of the moral decadence of the West which will eventually end up in the collapse of its civilization (Amirkhanian, Kelly, Kirsanova, DiFranceisco, et al 2006). The Russian government, through its officials, has also been extremely vocal in its support of the antigay propaganda law and most of the statements that these officials have made have been highly derogatory towards the gay community. In addition, there have been widespread violence against gay people not only from ultranationalist groups, but also from law enforcement officials who have among other atrocities beaten, murdered, and prosecuted quite a significant number of gay people for their orientation. The declaration by the Russian government that gay propaganda has been developed by the West to ensure that the Russian state is undermined is a message which has been taken to heart by a significant section of its population. This has resulted in the increasing marginalization of those individuals who are openly gay and it has allowed for the development of prejudices towards them, with gay people being labeled a part of the ‘fifth column’ which serves the interests of the West to undermine the sovereignty of Russia. The belief that the gay community in Russia is in the service of the West has ensured that many of its members do not speak out against the oppressive condition they live in because to do so is to put their lives at risk. In the case of LGBT rights in Russia, international law seems not to be able to protect them because of the government’s unwillingness to protect these rights. The Russian government has been a consistent opponent of the gay people in the country being able to enjoy equal rights to those of their fellow Russians and while this stance has been condemned by the international community, it has largely been ignored. The massive popularity that the Russian government currently enjoys has ensured that the bulk of the population has remained staunchly behind the law, with some individuals going as far as to take matters into their own hands by directly attacking gay people. The result has been that members of the gay community in Russia have continued to be under siege since their future within the country has increasingly become uncertain. It is currently in the hands of the Russian government to determine and assure the future rights of the gay community in Russia and this can only be done through the repealing of all laws which criminalize homosexuality. Works Cited Amirkhanian, Y.A., Kelly, J.A., Kirsanova, A.V., DiFranceisco, W. et al. 2006, "HIV risk behaviour patterns, predictors, and sexually transmitted disease prevalence in the social networks of young men who have sex with men in St Petersburg, Russia", International Journal of STD & AIDS, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 50-6. Anderson, J. 2013, "Rocks, Art, and Sex: The "Culture Wars" Come to Russia?", Journal of Church and State, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 307-334. Austin, D.W. 2013, "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity", The International Lawyer, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 469-483. Carter, M. 2013, "Queer Lit", World Literature Today, vol. 87, no. 5, pp. 6. Glasser, S.B. 2013, "MINISTER NO", Foreign Policy, , no. 200, pp. 52-62. Healey, D. 2012, "Comrades, Queers, and "Oddballs": Sodomy, Masculinity, and Gendered Violence in Leningrad Province of the 1950s", Journal of the History of Sexuality, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 496-522,587. Horne, S.G., Ovrebo, E., Levitt, H.M. & Franeta, S. 2009, "Leaving the herd: The lingering threat of difference for same-sex desires in postcommunist Russia", Sexuality Research & Social Policy, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 88-102. Mertus, J. 2007, "The Rejection of Human Rights Framings: The Case of LGBT Advocacy in the US", Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 1036-1064. Miller, F. et al. 2009, Homophobia: LGBT Rights in Russia, LGBT Rights in Cuba, LGBT Rights in North Korea, LGBT Rights in Zimbabwe, Persecution of Homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Saarbrücken: VDM Publishing. Simon, R.J. 2009, Gay and Lesbian Communities the World Over. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield. Read More