Meanwhile, in Russia...

Earlier this December the organization where I am interning, Human Rights First, held their annual Human Rights Summit at the Newseum. Panels covered a variety of human rights issues, and you can find a full list of speakers and topics here.

During the panel on the topic of LGBT rights I was especially affected by what Masha Gessen; a Russian author, journalist and LGBT activist; had to say. A full video of the discussion can be found here. 

The situation in Russia is so dangerous for LGBT activists that one of the planned speakers for the panel, Igor Kochetkov, was unable to attend the summit due to threats sent to his organization, the Russian LGBT Network. Mr. Kochetkov wrote a letter during which he stated that the Russian state refuses to respond to or to investigate threats or crimes motivated by ethnic hatred or homophobia, and that the state "looks for any excuse, real or fictitious, for termination of activities by human rights organizations."

After the conclusion of Mr. Kocketkov's letter, Ms. Gessen candidly remarked that his explanation of the situation was entirely understated. She feels that the state has launched an all-out war on LGBT people that has been going on for nearly two years. Ms. Gessen noted that LGBT people are not the only target, but that they are especially targeted through a series of laws that have recently been passed in the country. 

These laws began with the banning of any NGO from that receives foreign funding, which I wrote about in a prior post. According to Ms. Gessen, there has recently been an expansion of the law on espionage and high treason that making it possible for anyone to go to jail for anything that could be construed as one of these two things. There have also been a ban on adoptions by US citizens, a ban on US citizens from serving as heads or members of NGOs in the country, and a ban on adoptions by same sex couples or single people from countries where same sex marriage is legal. The judiciary now has the right to shut down any organization that receives private or public American funding, and there is now a law claiming to protect children from harmful information that shuts down access to many resources deemed contaminating including online resources or book publishers that could be available to minors.

Ms. Gessen notes that the ban on homosexual propaganda was just held up by the Russian Constitutional Court this week. This law says that homosexual propaganda  is "the uncontrolled and goal-directed distribution of information that can cause harm to the physical or spiritual development of children, including forming in them the erroneous impression of social equality of traditional and non-traditional marital relations." The law implies that it is illegal for citizens to speak of social equality, and that it is technically illegal for Ms. Gessen not to tell her three children that they are worse than the neighbors because of her nontraditional marriage. 

The entire campaign has led to massive violence targeted towards LGBT people in Russia, including Ms. Gessen, who will be leaving the country with her family this month. She is mostly concerned about young activists and those who protest openly on the streets. She notes that there are people who feel that they are doing the motherland's bidding if they kill or attack these activists. 

Unfortunately, Putin's ideals are finding traction outside the country. Putin is forming the Traditional Values Coalition within the United Nations to enforce his view, and similar laws and sentiments are showing up in countries within what Russia wishes to reclaim under its sphere of influence from Ukraine to Lithuania.  

Ms. Gessen feels adamantly that these laws are here to stay as long as Putin is in power. She feels that to advocate for change is futile, and calls for more basic assistance for LGBT individuals. She calls for the international community to help mitigate the effects of these laws by helping people leave the country and by ensuring their physical safety. Ms. Gessen says it is imperative that the Kremlin stay informed that the world is watching, and encourages American citizens to pressure their government to uphold human rights so that every time they meet Russian officials they feel obligated to ask about these issues. 

When asked whether she is concerned that pressuring Russia might strengthen the brutality of Putin's policy as he sees himself more and more as the champion of traditional values, Ms. Gessen replied that it would be immoral not to do so. According to her every one of us has an obligation to ensure that we live in a world where all people can live without the infringement of their own basic and fundamental rights by their governments, and if the world turns its back on Putin, the effects will be devastating.  

© Elizabeth "Elise" Sidamon-Eristoff December 26, 2013