Did Vladimir Putin Used Homophobia to Tighten Grip Over Russia??
Russia’s Ministry of Justice said it has filed a lawsuit with the country’s supreme court to outlaw the LGBTQ+ “international public movement” due to its “extremist” activity, including inciting “social and religious strife,” as per reports. Though it is unclear what the lawsuit will lead to, experts say that it is an ongoing crackdown on the LGBTQ+ people in russia and pushing forward the Russian idea of masculinity. The crackdown on the LGBTQ+ movement and promotion of masculinity is a clearly defined agenda of the Russian government, which allows President Vladimir Putin to strengthen his grip over the country.The crackdown, which began a decade ago, slowly took away LGBTQ+ rights. In 2013, the Kremlin adopted the first legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights, known as the “gay propaganda” law, banning any non-critical public depiction of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors, according to the Associated Post. In 2020, Putin pushed through a constitutional reform to extend his rule by two more terms that also outlawed same-sex marriage. In 2022, after sending troops into Ukraine, the Kremlin ramped up its rhetoric about protecting “traditional values” from what it called the West’s “degrading” influence, in what rights advocates saw as an attempt to legitimize the war in Ukraine.In the same year, the authorities adopted a law banning propaganda of “nontraditional sexual relations” among adults, too, effectively outlawing any public endorsement of LGBTQ+ people. Russian lawmakers have doubled down on attacking the rights of LGBT+ individuals and at the same time advancing ‘traditional values’ to justify its war in Ukraine.