From Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-besen/homophobia-a-mark-of-lose_b_1117747.html
Wayne Besen
Posted: 11/29/11
I knew Russia was likely to embrace homophobia the moment I read that approximately 1.25 million Russians have emigrated from the nation in the past decade. Population experts say that the mass exodus is comparable in size to the migration following the Bolshevik Revolution.
This one-time superpower is disintegrating into a superstitious country more concerned about angels than economics. Each day, for example, tens of thousands of Russians stand in line for up to 12 hours in frigid weather to kiss a glass-covered case that they believe holds the Virgin Mary’s belt.
To top it off, Vladimir Putin’s voracious appetite for power is morphing Russia into an unsettling hybrid that vacillates between pseudo-democracy and sort-of dictatorship. The faltering of this country, which has the world’s 11th largest economy, would be significantly worse if it were not for the good fortune of having oil and gas exports.
In this politically stagnating and spiritually stifling environment, it is predictable that the city of Saint Petersburg would consider a totalitarian bill imposing fines for the so-called promotion of gay “propaganda.” If it were to pass, anyone who committed “public acts” promoting homosexuality, bisexuality or transgender identity to minors could pay up to 3,000 rubles, while an organization could pay 10,000 to 50,000 rubles.
Continue reading at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-besen/homophobia-a-mark-of-lose_b_1117747.html
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