On a cold Sunday night in Moscow, Vladimir Putin took to the stage – not far from the Red Square – and greeted a huge, overzealous crowd with news of his landslide victory. "I see in this (result) the confidence and hope of our people," he said. The 65-year-old secured a fourth term in power (fifth if you count his time as Prime Minister, as many do) with a massive 76.67 percent of the vote and 59.5 percent voter turnout. This election ensures Putin will remain in power for another six years, bringing his total years in power to nearly a quarter century and making him the second-longest ruling leader of Russia – after Josef Stalin.
The Washington Post’s Nataliya Vasilyeva journeyed to a gay nightclub in Yekaterinburg, a city nestled deep in the Ural Mountains. She found that apathy even there. A drag queen took to the stage in front of her urging people to vote, “Do you know what’s happening tomorrow?” she asked the crowd, “I’m going to the election tomorrow. If anyone wants to join me, I can lend you my makeup, we’ll go together.” The crowd responded meekly, and Vasilyeva noted it was unclear if this enthusiasm from the drag queen was merely just ironic.
LGBT+ people have faced an incredible amount of discrimination and pain the last few years in Russia. In 2013, Putin signed into law a ban on “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to protect children. This legislation effectively outlawed any public support of LGBT+ people, making it a crime to hold gay rights protests, pride parades, or to even discuss homosexuality with children.
Four years ago, reports started emerging from independent Russian newspapers of organised groups of young men kidnapping and torturing gay men. They filmed and posted these assaults online. Incidents like these were later found to be more widespread than previously thought. Vigilante groups roam several Russian cities, searching for gay men.
Then, earlier last year, the violent hunting of gay men shifted from being perpetrated by vigilante groups to being carried out by actual police officers. In the autonomous region of Chechnya gay men were rounded up, tortured and killed, while others were released to their families who were instructed to kill the men themselves. Masha Gesson, a Russian journalist and author, travelled to Moscow in May to report on the carnage herself. There she found resilient LGBT+ organisations helping gay Chechnyans flee to safety. Read more via mygwork