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Russian gay rights activist talks anti-gay legislation

A leading Russian gay rights activist spoke Thursday on Russia’s anti-gay legislation and the extreme hate she has witnessed in advocating against it — hate she says poses a threat to her life each day.

“Russia is the family values capital of the world, and I’m the biggest threat to this,” Russian LGBT activist Masha Gessen said in her speech.

“Now if a week goes by without a clear death threat, that’s interesting, like they’ve somehow forgotten about me.”

Gessen, who is a contributor to The New York Times, plans to publish a book called “Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot,” in March.

Gessen’s speech focused on the parallels between Russia’s socially conservative laws and the nation’s recent propaganda campaign against homosexuality.

Gessen said the reelection of President Vladimir Putin in March 2012 and his emphasis on certain family values, such as the duty of all Russians to reproduce, contributed to the crackdown on gay protests.

She said she was initially optimistic during the protest period, but she now thinks that the longer the crackdown goes on, the worse the chances are that anything good will come of it.

Since Putin’s reelection, the Russian Parliament has passed laws designed to paralyze gay activism and protests, Gessen said.

“In September 2012, laws on espionage and treason were amended,” Gessen said. “That means you can jail anyone for anything — I’m not exaggerating.”

In addition to laws that are directed to limiting gay activism, the government is pushing propaganda that portrays gays as an enemy of the state, Gessen said.

“The enemy has to be portrayed as extremely dangerous and an immediate threat and less than human,” Gessen said. “For example, (on) a leading channel one commentator portrayed gays and lesbians as the anti-Christ.”

This campaign of propaganda has led to extreme violence, rendering appeals to self-defense pointless, she said.

“There should be a political boycott during the (2014 Sochi) Olympics,” Gessen said. “This is not going to get the laws repealed, but it’s the right thing to do. Let’s not let (President Barack) Obama sit by a fascist.”

Kit Pribble, a senior majoring in Germanic and Slavic language and literature, said she witnessed how this closed-minded way of thinking pervades Russian life when she studied in the country this summer.

“I saw the anti-gay law passed this summer, and I got to talk to my host mom and family, and they all thought the law was just,” Pribble said.

“Gessen’s speech was more confirmation of my own thoughts, and it was interesting to see how this whole narrative has progressed.”

Austin Yost, a graduate student in Russian and Eastern European studies, said his favorite part of Gessen’s speech was her description of Putin.

“I like how she portrayed Putin as a short-sighted bully,” Yost said. “It’s a perspective that I haven’t gotten yet because of the American press.”

university@dailytarheel.com

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