Gay Rights In Russia: The West Cannot Claim Moral Superiorty

Seeing that my Twitter name is ‘LGBTforpeace’, the first question people usually ask me when I refuse to go along with the anti-Putin hysteria is: ‘But why do you support him? He hates the gays!’.

Firstly, just because I don't go along with the hysteria, doesn't mean I support him. What I support is the fact that a resurgent Russia is standing up to the US war machine, in Syria for example, and putting an end to the impunity of Neocon domination. I value all human life, not just my own kind. Regarding Putin’s domestic agenda, I don’t really consider it my business to judge either way. (Though for sure, there is a hell of a lot of propaganda about it).

Secondly...

Nobody is saying that Russia is a particularly LGBT-friendly country, but westerners seem to be a bit misinformed, with many under the impression that gay people are regularly being imprisoned, killed and just generally persecuted there. 

This isn’t really true. What is true is that there have been allegations of some gay men being detained, tortured and killed in Cheychna, a somewhat autonomous region of Russia, and home to many Islamists. What is also true is that the Russian parliament passed a ‘gay propaganda’ law in 2013, making it illegal for anyone to promote the idea that same-sex relationships are on a par with heterosexual relationships, not dissimilar to the Section 28 law that we had in the U.K. just 15 years ago.

I’m obviously not here to justify any of this, but it's interesting that what has not been widely reported is that in 2016, a proposed law to ban same-sex public displays of affection, was rejected (unanimously) by a government committee. This seems like quite an odd move for a supposedly rabidly homophobic Kremlin that is supposedly hellbent on persecuting gay people! It at least suggests that Russia is not on a downward spiral of increasing LGBT oppression.

It took about 40 years in the U.K. from decriminalisation, to equality. (Arguably only achieved in this timeframe because neoliberal politicians have used identity politics for votes, at the expense of economic equality). 

It’s only been 24 years since decriminalisation in Russia, following vehement homophobia in the Soviet Union. And what’s more, they’ve had quite a lot to deal with in that time, what with the US meddling and devastating the country economically in the 1990s, and now with NATO provocations on their borders and US saber-rattling following completely unproven allegations of Kremlin meddling in the US election. 

Also, it is obviously a FAR greater and more culturally diverse country, thus it will inevitably take longer for societal attitudes to change across the board. 

So I find it a bit absurd to hold the general state of gay rights in Russia up to our current standards. We really need to stop thinking of ourselves as morally superior, especially given that our governments, who we choose to vote for, continue to support numerous LGBT oppressive governments around the world, many of which are far more oppressive than Putin's Russia.

The reality is that western powers are not concerned for LGBT people in Russia. History since WW2 shows very clearly that their foreign policy is not based on improving human rights, but instead is about advancing their geopolitical influence, securing access to resources, and feeding the out-of-control military-industrial complex. The issue of LGBT rights in Russia is simply a useful propaganda tool in their agenda to demonize the Putin government as much as possible, and manufacture consent for future regime change operations, so that they can return Russia to the chaos of the 1990s; allowing western corporations to plunder the country, and making it subservient, once again, to American interests.

Hope that clears it up.

New McCarthyism reaches UK Labour Party

What is Labour's John McDonnell on about?

He has called for a Labour boycott of RT, the Kremlin-funded TV network that has, over the years, given a platform to the anti-establishment, socialist Left, when others have shut them out. It is incredibly disappointing that John has caved to the new McCarthyism and chosen to join the neoliberal herd, who are seeking to censor RT and blame 'Russian meddling', to distract from the failures of neoliberal globalism that have led to anti-establishment movements throughout the west.

Why hasn’t he called for a boycott of all the corporate media outlets that have just been shilling for 'reformer' Bin Salman, destroyer of Yemen? (Oh, Bin Salman is allowing Saudi women to drive, and opening some casinos, so who cares!).

Why hasn’t John called for a boycott of the BBC, with their long history of propagating for western interests? For example: still, they are referring to child-beheading jihadists in Syria, as ‘rebels’. Why? Because western governments want Assad gone, and in order for the public to support this, we must not become too aware of the reality of the opposition. We must remain convinced that they are moderates - not inhuman barbarians. So they are ‘rebels’ and ‘freedom fighters’, and the BBC et al. have pushed this narrative for seven years. The victims of these so-called ‘rebels’ are thus mostly ignored in their reporting - they are ‘unpeople’. Also ignored is any context - like the fact that this war was created by imperial powers, particularly America, who knowingly gave billions of dollars of support to a jihadi revolution, to fuel the creation of a ‘Salafist principality’ (aka Daesh).

Another example is their coverage of all things Russia. Here’s an interview I caught the other day, on BBC’s Hardtalk, with Russian presidential candidate Boris Titov. The interviewer, Stephen Sackur, is flabbergasted that someone can oppose Putin yet still support much of his foreign policy, and not consider him uniquely corrupt. In the interview, Sackur is literally just parroting western government’s line on Russia - ie that Putin is a tyrant set on destabilising the western world and that his foreign policy is imperial and aggressive, rather than defensive; anyone who doesn’t agree with this must either be insane or in-league with him, and their opinion on anything is to be derided. (And they say RT presenters are propagandists!).

Rationality is not permitted. Exceptionalism is rife. How dare Putin react when the US instigate a coup in a country on Russian borders? The bastard should have left the ethnically Russian Crimeans to oppression under the US-backed, anti-Russian coup regime (inc neo-Nazis) in Ukraine; he should have allowed Syria to be taken over by US-backed al Qaeda barbarians. And he should bloody well accept NATO's gradual encirclement of Russia as an act of peace, and stop being so unreasonable! (NB I am not saying that I support Putin, nor that his foreign policy has been perfect, but I think he and his policies need to be judged in context of western aggression).

Is anyone in western ‘mainstream media’ NOT entirely ignorant of Russian politics and Russian interests? Oh, they’re not allowed any interests, are they. Only America and her vassals are allowed those, even in countries on the other side of the planet. And what are Russian interests? I see little evidence to suggest that they desire any more than a respect for their sovereignty, and for America to not intervene in countries on their borders.

The fact that Putin is immensely popular with the Russian people is of no interest to western pundits. They aren’t important. They must be brainwashed by propaganda, which we’re to be believe only exists in Russia. They need some American 'freedom'. Also of no interest is that Putin has consistently sought partnership with the west, including suggesting that Russia join NATO. But instead, NATO continues to provoke.

For a more balanced view of Russia’s viewpoint and actions, watch this talk by American Russia scholar, Professor Stephen F. Cohen. American meddling in Russia in the 1990s devastated the country. Russian oligarchs, many of whom Putin subsequently cracked down on, took control of the country, and poverty soared. Under Putin, the economy has revived, and Russia’s integrity, rejuvenated. With the west now sabre ratting, and the threat of their meddling very present once again, is it any wonder Putin is more popular than ever? Only a unified country can resist such an imperial threat, and Russians know all too well what can happen when US-backed neoliberals get their oar in.

As for the attempted assassination of the former Russian spy in Salisbury last week - again, you are either considered insane or a ‘Putinist’, if you think it plausible but unlikely that he would poison a traitor six years after the treachery, just before the election and World Cup, at a time when relations with the west are at an all time low, and when he consistently says he wants us to be partners. And would he really use a poison that would be so easily attributed to Russia? It seems that, on one hand, western powers want us to believe that Putin is a cunning mastermind responsible for destabilising the ‘free world’, whilst on the other, he’s a complete idiot.

Those who are pushing this Russophobia have FAR more motive, so as to frame him. To get an idea of how former Russian oligarchs have been influencing this extreme anti-Putin narrative, watch ‘The Magnitsky Act: Behind The Scenes’. It is chilling. Or perhaps it has nothing to do with an attempt to frame Putin and is just a result of Russian mafia running amok in London.


Back to RT, here’s a tweet by Jeremy Corbyn, from 2011, in which he recommends RT as a media platform, for being more impartial than most regarding the Libyan intervention. He’s being shamed for this tweet. When did facts become shameful? Thankfully he has at least disagreed with McDonnell regarding his call to boycott RT. Let’s hope his principles shine through and he doesn’t give in to the Russophobia. However, I fear the inevitability of this new McCarthyism being increasingly used against him, particularly during any upcoming general election. We can only hope that most of the public now see through 'mainstream media' deception, and can decipher that Putin is possibly not the all-powerful, suicidal maniac we're led to believe. (The real maniacs are in the west).


The military industrial complex needs an enemy to justify spending; the established powers are desperate to keep the neoliberal status quo; and the openly imperialist Neocons want regime-change in Russia and beyond. Could this combination of desperation, war profiteering, and just sheer lunacy, which has led to this new Cold War, lead us into WW3?

What seems essential to me is that the true Left doesn’t play into the hands of those who have orchestrated this tension; with those who cannot accept the fall of the US unipolar world order. They must not cave to the new McCarthyism, but instead stand up to the neoliberals, neocons, and the war profiteers who have created it. They must show their support for a new multi-polar world order based on a genuine respect for human rights and international law.

That John McDonnell has now caved, is why I am so disappointed in him. Let’s hope that Corbyn continues to stand firm and resist!


My views on RT

Glenn Greenwald's views on RT

Adam Rippon's Oscars Outfit

Apparently LGBT role models wearing BDSM inspired clothing to the Oscars is ‘activism’ for the LGBT community, and I’m basically Mary Whitehouse for thinking otherwise. 

Not only do I not see Olympic ice skater Adam Rippon wearing a harness/tuxedo outfit as ‘activism’, I see it as actively harmful - he’s chosen to be a role model to kids, (and is financially benefiting from doing so), so for him to use his first major public appearance to wear such a sexually provocative outfit, I think is immensely selfish. And a dangerous thing for any role model to do, gay or straight, male or female.

Was it a publicity stunt? Is he using his identity for fame and fortune?  

According to many conversations I’ve had on Twitter, we’re meant to celebrate the fact that we LGBT people can now publicly express our sexuality and fetishes, as others can. Is this what equality means these days? - the right to contribute to this overly sexualised society as much as everyone else? Hardly something to celebrate, surely.

Some on Twitter even argued with me that people who are into BDSM need to be ‘liberated’. I suppose it’s just a matter of time before those people are free to walk down the high street in their gimp masks etc, and anyone who protests will be labelled a bigot and a prude. Inclusivity, I guess…