While much of the world seems to be warming up to the LGBT community, things in Russia are worse now then they were a decade ago.A survey conducted by the Levada Center revealed that 85% of Russians opposed same-sex marriage (no shock there). A whopping 34% of respondents think homosexuality is a disease, with 22% believing gays and lesbians should be subject to compulsory treatment for their affliction.
Researchers interviewed more than 1,600 people from across the country, and only 23% of respondents felt that gay people should just be left alone—a decline of 7% from 2005, when a similar survey was conducted.
Even more disturbing is that 16% of Russians think gays should be isolated from society, and 5% of respondents think they should be “eradicated.”
Hmm, maybe that’s why 89% of Russians say they don’t personally know any gay people. Faced with hatred like that, we’d keep a low profile, too.
Dionte
Careful Russians, hest more Meteorites fall on you.
Jazpyy
Based on my own survey I discovered that nearly 77% of Russians need to evolve into human beings.
1EqualityUSA
Putin must be quaking in his zip-up boots.
Mediocrates
Lovely. And just as I was about to brush up on my Russian. Historically, things do not go well when large, powerful, economically-troubled countries start shopping for scapegoats.
Joetx
Massive income inequality caused by oligarchs + a political elite determined to maintain the privileged position of a privileged few + a religion bent on power & influence instead of love & compassion + an ignorant public = Abject hatred towards minority groups.
It’s been done throughout history & the scheme continues today. People suck.
Cam
Russians are a fairly sexual people. Honestly, my guess is that 50% of the people over there who hate gays are trying to cover for some sweet sweet gay loving they’ve had in the not too distant past.
MuscleModelBlog.com
I knew Russia could be a fairly xenophobic country, but I didn’t know that is was an homophobic as this survey suggests. Interesting.
jwrappaport
Tchaikovsky is rolling in his grave.
2eo
@MuscleModelBlog.com: A country in the vice grip of quite possible THE most loony christian sect of them all. The orthodox christians are absolutely mental, and not in a mormon try and ruin the world and give money to those fighting gay rights way either. These horrible christians aided endless pogroms and intellectual culls in the Soviet Union, and were essentially another arm of the KGB during the cold war.
Mother Russia and christianity [all organised religion for that matter] are petrified of the same thing: Intelligent people with the power to resist them.
doug105
To be fair I’am not so sure if you polled Fundies in the U.S. You wouldn’t get close to the same numbers as the headline.
jwrappaport
@doug105: The whole point of the article is to show that mainstream Russia, as opposed to a radical subset of its population, is violently homophobic.
Stache1
@Joetx: I think in that kind of set up people shouldn’t be too surprised. Go anywhere in the world or anywhere throughout history and there always has to be scapegoats.
Before this it was the hatred of the foreigners that had their attention. Bands of Neo Nazi hoodlums would roam the streets looking for anyone that looked remotely foreign (not white) and assault/kill them freely and sometimes post the videos. Someone or something has to be blamed. Just the way it is in these kind of hell holes of the world.
Daniel-Reader
Media is controlled by the government in Russia so take any propaganda coming out of Russia with a grain of salt. Any group not bending to the government line is punished. This goes for television personalities, on down the line. Russia is still like the old Soviet Union only smaller than before. The government is currently hording gold which is going into the pockets of the politicians who foresee a time when everyone will grow tired of the policitians who will then have to flee the country with their gold.
Billysees
@Joetx: 5
Interestingly said.
multitasker
I think the results of the same polls were they taken in the US would surprise people. While the percentage of respondents saying that they do not know any gay people would be dramatically lower, I suspect that some of the other figures would not be a great deal less spooky. Quarantine? Not 16%? But 5% is still a lot of people. Eradication? THAT number would be especially disturbing.
Victor_in_PA
I’d actually take these surveys to heart if #1, it weren’t a third world country and, #2, anyone cared what Russians think. They’re just circling the drain.
Billysees
@Victor_in_PA: 16
“They’re just circling the drain.”
Cute…..never heard that one before…….lol….
They’ve got an ugly political history they need to forget.
And then they need to strive to become a new and better place to live than before.
It’s not impossible until it becomes impossible.
Being in the swirling waters above the drain is not the end.
stvrsnbrgr
@2eo: Da!
stvrsnbrgr
After its stint as a geopolitical flesh-eating disease for most of the 20th century, Russia had an extraordinary opportunity to transform itself into a modern, progressive society. Now, 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Putin’s megalomania has made a tragic joke of Russian democracy. The oligarchs are keeping up with the American Joneses, sucking dry the wealth of their nations. The Kremlin – with nothing “super” and very little “power” left in the tank – must satisfy itself with throwing sticks into the global political spokes, as China and the U.S. dance on Lenin’s tomb. Sad, but true. So I have zero fucks to give* if Russia were to be covered by glaciers.
*As long as we get their Olympic men’s gymnastics team out first.