It looks like Russia has become highly anti gay, and I am not only talking about the government, actors are participating to the general homophobia. According to the website NGS.Novosti (which I can’t certainly read, it’s in Russian!) Ivan Okhlobystin, a leading actor playing in the Russian equivalent of ‘Scrubs’, has declared the unimaginable, during a talk that he gave in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk:
‘I’d burn them [gay people] all alive in ovens. It’s Sodom and Gomorrah, as a religious person I can’t be indifferent to it, it’s a living threat to my children’.
Who is this douchebag? He is an ex-Orthodox priest with a new acting career, and some maddening ideas: ‘I don’t want my children to think that being a [faggot] is okay’, he continued, ‘It’s queer fascism! If a person can’t choose someone similar from the opposite sex for reproduction, it’s a clear sign of a psychic anomaly, it means they need to be deprived of the vote’.
We have our homophobic idiots at home, but imagine an actor saying this publicly? He would certainly be under fire beyond recovery, since we aren’t talking about Alec Baldwin screaming his usual faggot slur at paparazzi. This Okhlobystin guy is batshit insane, and instead of being slammed by the crowd, he received wild applause from fans of the show, not marginal people, just regular ones watching TV shows. This tells a lot about the current anti-gay atmosphere in Russia… He even declared, ‘Plus, the existence of official sodomite organizations in all their forms – from homosexualists to pedophiles – is a direct offense of religious people’s beliefs and thus should be punished by the law’. And this is where it becomes very dangerous since, last year, Russia passed a law introducing criminal penalties for offending religious believers… the Pussy Riot effect, may be.
In any case gay people are more and more regarded as second-class citizens in Russia thanks to Putin,… yes that Putin who often rides horses shirtless sending vibes of the most homoerotic imagery you can imagine! So should musicians boycott Russia? This is the question! Musicians see things differently.
A few weeks go, pop-synth experimentalist Grimes played in Moscow and justified it by writing on her Tumblr: ‘Yes, I am playing in Moscow in 2 days and no, I do not feel bad about it, I don’t think that denying and ignoring the gay community in Russia is cool.’ […] ‘We are entering safely and it means the world to me to be returning to Russia. It doesn’t hurt the government if I refuse to tour there. Just regular people. So I don’t think it’s wrong to be doing this. Refusing to go to Russia would only hurt fans.’
I just hope that her fans are not part of this anti-gay propaganda, because it’s far from being limited to the government.
And of course, there is Elton John – now if there is someone who can speak for gays, it’s Elton! He has given his opinion a few days ago, and it’s equally surprising: He doesn’t want musicians to boycott Russia. For him it is a question of ‘star power’, which could ‘challenge’ the law. He played in Moscow a few days ago and took the opportunity to speak out against the law, but moreover, this is what he declared recently, ‘I believe the Russian people are decent and will be persuaded (to overturn the law) — but they need to hear us, and see we are human. They can’t do that from a distance of 2,000 miles.’
I see his point of view, plus he is well aware he will be criticized, but isn’t his declaration a bit naive, and coming from a guy who believes a bit too much in the goodness of humanity?
It’s not the opinion of his best friend Lady Gaga whom promoters were fined last month by a Russian court for ‘gay propaganda’,… She even thinks we should even boycott the 2014 Winter Olympic in Sochi: ‘I don’t think that we should be going to the Olympics at all. I don’t know if my opinion is not highly regarded, in terms of the amazing champions and people that are rehearsing and training for the event,…’I mean I would never take anything away from their hard work, I just think it is absolutely wrong for so many countries to give money and economy in the way of a country that doesn’t support gays.’
So it varies greatly from one artist to another one, Justin Timberlake has added 2 dates in Russia, where he will be performing there for the first time, and Timberlake hasn’t even expressed any feeling about it,… may be a certain hefty amount of money plays a large role here?
So should musicians boycott Russia or should they go to show Russian people that gay people are totally normal as Elton John thinks? I am not exactly sure, but if artists have boycotted South Africa during the Apartheid, it would seem logical for them to do the same thing in this case…. Elton John performed in Sun City in 1983, so at least he is very consistent! But this is exactly what he said in Moscow:
‘You took me to your hearts all these years ago and you’ve always welcomed me with warmth and open arms any time I’ve visited. You have always embraced me and you have never judged me. So I am deeply saddened and shocked over the current legislation that is now in place against the LGBT community here in Russia. In my opinion, it is inhumane and it is isolating. People have demanded that because of this legislation, I must not come here to Russia. But many, many more people asked me to come and I listened to them. I love coming here. I want to show them and the world that I care and that I don’t believe in isolating people. Music is a very powerful thing. It brings people together irrespective of their age, their race, their sexuality, or their religion. It does not discriminate. Look around you tonight. You see men, women, young and old, gay and straight. Thousands of Russian people enjoying the music. We’re all here together in harmony and harmony is what makes a happy family and a strong society. The spirit we share tonight is what builds a future of equality, love and compassion for my children and for your children. Please don’t leave it behind when you leave tonight. Each and every one of you please, keep this spirit in your life and in your heart. I wish you love and peace and health and happiness. And this show is dedicated to the memory of Vladislav Tornovoi.’
Don’t tell that me Elton John believes this bullshit about the power of music, this Disneyland-Pepto-Bismol-colored-small-world-togertherness? He should sometimes removed his pink colored glasses, and listen to guys like this Okhlobystin actor. This is the reality of Russia today, and I am afraid this guy isn’t really ready to listen to ‘Can you feel the love tonight’.