Tag Archives: Russia

flashmob

http://youtu.be/r2yAk-XL5kE

A public awareness stunt arranged by ‘Autovigenie’ in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia.

A reminder to male drivers that from 1st September 2013 they will now have to exceed the speed limit by an extra 10 kph or incur a fine.

Previously: Driving In Russia

ap13062904235180022060(Stephen Fry with Vitaly Milonov, the Russian lawmaker who started the ongoing crackdown on Russia’s LGBT community, above)

Stephen Fry writes:

An absolute ban on the Russian Winter Olympics of 2014 in Sochi is simply essential. Stage them elsewhere in Utah, Lillyhammer, anywhere you like. At all costs Putin cannot be seen to have the approval of the civilised world.

He is making scapegoats of gay people, just as Hitler did Jews. He cannot be allowed to get away with it. I know whereof I speak. I have visited Russia, stood up to the political deputy [Vitaly Milonov] who introduced the first of these laws, in his city of St Petersburg.I looked into the face of the man and, on camera, tried to reason with him, counter him, make him understand what he was doing.

All I saw reflected back at me was what Hannah Arendt called, so memorably, “the banality of evil.” A stupid man, but like so many tyrants, one with an instinct of how to exploit a disaffected people by finding scapegoats.
Putin may not be quite as oafish and stupid as Deputy Milonov but his instincts are the same.

He may claim that the “values” of Russia are not the “values” of the West, but this is absolutely in opposition to Peter the Great’s philosophy, and against the hopes of millions of Russians, those not in the grip of that toxic mix of shaven headed thuggery and bigoted religion, those who are agonised by the rolling back of democracy and the formation of a new autocracy in the motherland that has suffered so much (and whose music, literature and drama, incidentally I love so passionately).

…I am gay. I am a Jew. My mother lost over a dozen of her family to Hitler’s anti-Semitism. Every time in Russia (and it is constantly) a gay teenager is forced into suicide, a lesbian “correctively” raped, gay men and women beaten to death by neo-Nazi thugs while the Russian police stand idly by, the world is diminished and I for one, weep anew at seeing history repeat itself.

An Open Letter David Cameron And The IOC (Stephen Fry)

Meanwhile:

Irish youth groups have handed in a letter of concern to the Russian Ambassador today to protest at the violent treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LBGT) young people in Russia after a gay teenager who was allegedly kidnapped and beaten by neo-Nazis died of his injuries.

BeLonG To Youth Services, The Union of Students in Ireland (USI), The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and the International LGBTQ Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO) have joined together to express their concern at the rise in public violence towards LGBT young people in Russia following the recent passing of  homophobic legislation in the Russian parliament.

 

Irish youth groups hold Russian Embassy homophobia letter protest (BelongTo)

-1Derrick Howard writes:

I’m sure a lot of you like me find the images coming out of Russia very upsetting. I want to do something – what that is I don’t know.

But not getting pissed on Russian vodka doesn’t seem like enough .

For those of you who would like to do something please come along to Outhouse (105 Capel St) {Dublin], Thursday 8th of August at 7.30pm.
And if you’ve never been to something like this before – don’t worry, me neither! If you can’t make it please share, otherwise I look forward to seeing you.

 

What Can We Do About Russia (Facebook)

russia_duma

A Russian lawmaker has asked parliament to give women two days paid leave a month when they menstruate, a move that has irked rights activists worried over creeping conservatism since Vladimir Putin resumed the presidency. Mikhail Degtyaryov, a member of the nationalist LDPR party led by the outspoken Vladimir Zhirinovsky, wrote on his website that he had proposed a draft law to increase the protection of women at the workplace.

“During that period (of menstruation), most women experience psychological and physiological discomfort. The pain for the fair sex is often so intense that it is necessary to call an ambulance,” said Degtyaryov, 32, who is married with two sons. Marina Pisklakova-Parker, head of women’s group Anna Center, said the proposal was absurd. “If we are seriously debating women’s efficiency at work during menstruation, we should also consider how fit for work men are after a drinking bout,” she said.

Russian lawmaker proposes paid days off for menstruating women (NBC News)

wintergamesBranding for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia

A Russian lawmaker has said the ‘gay propaganda’ law will remain enforced during the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.

Vitaly Milonov, co-sponsor of the ‘non-traditional relationships’ bill, said the government cannot decide when to selectively enforce the law.

It comes as the International Olympic Committee said the Russian government had ‘assured’ them all athletes and spectators will be safe from arrest.

 

 

Russian lawmaker: We will arrest gay athletes, tourists at Olympic Games (Gay Star News)

russia_gays.siYesterday, the Russian Duma passed a bill that will ban “gay propaganda” and the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to under-18s. The law will mean that anyone speaking openly about gays and lesbians among young people will be liable to a fine.

The bill was passed by 436 votes to zero. There was one abstention.

The bill will now become law if it is approved by Russia’s upper house of parliament and then signed by President Vladimir Putin, who has already expressed his support for it. The bill is the most criticised element of a series of measures that activists say makes a difficult situation for gay people in Russia even worse. Individuals who violate the law can be fined up to £100, while the penalty for organisations can be up to £20,000. Foreigners found to be promoting gay equality in violation of the law will be arrested and immediately deported.

More than 20 of the protesters who gathered outside parliament were attacked by extremist Orthodox Christians and pelted with eggs, stinging nettles and urine as they attempted to stage a “kissing protest”.

Russia’s Duma waves through anti-gay law – by 436 votes to 0 (Independent.co.uk)

In Unanimous Vote, Russia Passes Bill Making It Illegal To Tell Kids Gay People Exist (New Civil Rights Movement)

(pic: Reuters/Max Shemetov via RT)

(Hat tip: Mark Hennessey)