Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

Activists are continuing to hijack the social media campaigns of major Sochi Olympics marketing partners. #CheersToSochi is the hashtag.

Reuters has the news: Hayley Wickenheiser, Canada’s most decorated female ice hockey player and an outspoken critic of Russia’s anti-gay laws, was named on Thursday as her country’s flag-bearer for next month’s Sochi Winter Games. A triple gold medallist and pioneer of her sport who has played professionaly in men’s leagues, Wickenheiser said she was honored to be chosen to …

A galaxy of Broadway stars have gotten together for skits and songs that mock Russia’s crackdown on LGBT people. You’ll recognize a lot of people: Harvey Fierstein, Laura Benanti, Michael Cerveris, Joanna Gleason, Jonathan Groff, Jackie Hoffman, Andrea McArdle, Brad Oscar, Stephen Schwarz, John Tartaglia, Mary Testa, Michael Urie, and many more. There are even cameos from Dan Savage and …

Elton John today posted a long message about Russia on his website. An excerpt: I am deeply grateful for the support of the Russian people who have welcomed and accepted me in their country ever since I first visited in 1979. On my last visit, in December 2013, I wondered whether the new legislation banning “homosexual propaganda” might have changed …

From the New York Times editorial board: As the Winter Olympic Games approach next month in Russia, it is hard to tell whether President Vladimir Putin wants to play the role of genial host or homophobic scold. In remarks Friday to workers preparing the Games, the autocratic Russian leader sought to reassure visitors to Sochi. “You can feel relaxed and …

Matalin: “Can I just say, I’m so sick of sports and politics. All of my gay friends think he looks so buff when he is shirtless. Why is he [Putin] even talking about this?” (Via Memeographs)

“I myself know some people who are gay. We’re on friendly terms. I’m not prejudiced in any way. If you want my personal attitude, I would tell you that I don’t care about a person’s sexual orientation. I’ve honoured several members of the gay community in this country but for their personal achievements, regardless of their sexual orientation. There’s no …

The Human Rights Campaign has published a blistering reaction to the comments made by Vladimir Putin on yesterday’s broadcast of ABC’s This Week. “President Putin’s public interpretation of the country’s anti-LGBT law is beyond comprehension,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “This law was designed to do nothing less than secure second class status for LGBT Russians and visitors. It does …

ABC News today aired an interview with Vladimir Putin in which he declared that Russia’s anti-gay laws are more liberal than the laws in some parts of the United States. “I’d like to ask my colleagues and friends that, as they try to criticize us, they would do well to set their own house in order first,” Putin said. “I …

Via the Associated Press: Russian President Vladimir Putin says gays should feel welcome at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, but they must “leave the children in peace.” Putin told volunteers Friday that gays visiting Sochi “can feel calm and at ease,” and vowed that there would be no discrimination at the games. But he emphasized that, according to …

Via their Facebook page: “Queer Nation NY paid a visit to NBC News Today Show studio in Rockefeller plaza this morning to say hi to Matt Lauer. Our message: Human Rights Are Not A Game! Putin’s Lies Kill!” More photos are at the link. And from last night, via press release: Two members of Queer Nation confronted three-time Olympian Brian …

Days after a similar demand from Russian actor Ivan “Burn Gays Alive” Okhlobystin, the Russian Orthodox Church has called for a public referendum to criminalize homosexual acts. The Church’s abrupt intervention came amid a growing debate over whether the Kremlin should mount a firmer defence of traditional values that many in the overwhelmingly conservative country view as coming under attack …

Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin, who made international headlines last month when he declared that gays should be burned alive in furnaces, is calling upon Vladimir Putin to criminalize homosexuality. Via Russia’s official news agency RIA Novosti: A controversial sitcom star-cum-priest asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring back a Soviet law criminalizing “sodomy.” Not doing so would give “sodomites a …

NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas yesterday vowed that his network will not ignore Russia’s anti-gay laws during their coverage of the Sochi Olympics. “If Putin doesn’t drag his butt into the studio, then we’ll talk about it without him,” Costas said during an Olympics press preview. “But if he shows up, we’d rather talk to him. Wouldn’t you rather hear …

Three-times-failed GOP presidential candidate Pat Buchanan has written a World Net Daily column in which he calls on President Obama to attend the Sochi Olympics in solidarity against the recent terrorist attacks in Russia. Vladimir Putin, who has his prestige fully invested in the Sochi games, would see this as a magnanimous gesture, a reaching out of America’s hand, to …

“America was de-Christianized in the second half of the 20th century by court orders, over the vehement objections of a huge majority of a country that was overwhelmingly Christian. And same-sex marriage is indeed an ‘abstract’ idea unrooted in the history or tradition of the West. Where did it come from? Peoples all over the world, claims Putin, are supporting …

The Advocate today announced its Phobie Awards, with Russian President Vladimir Putin topping their list of the thirteen most homophobic people in the world. The rest of the list features evildoers well known to JMG readers: Orson Scott Card, Scott Lively, Pat Robertson, E.W. Jackson, Marco Rubio, Frigide Barjot, Ken Cuccinelli, Robert Mugabe, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Rep. Louie Gohmert, and …

“NBC has been dodging attempts from activists to hold them accountable since the laws were enacted. A letter from the gay lobbying group Human Rights Campaign’s president asking NBC to include news of Russia’s human-rights violations alongside their standard Olympics coverage elicited a mealy-mouthed response from the network, which said it would ‘provide coverage of Russia’s anti-gay laws if the …

Today Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he has abolished the official state news agency RIA Novosti. You may recall that I’ve excerpted RIA Novosti on several recent occasions and have noted the agency’s even-handed reporting of LGBT stories.  BBC News reports: In a surprise decree published on the Kremlin’s website on Monday, Mr Putin announced it would be replaced …

Vladimir Putin yesterday signed into law a ban on advertising abortion services. Abortions are legal in Russia and have been since Soviet times, but currently centrist-conservative lawmakers want to limit or completely ban such practices saying it is partly responsible for the country’s dwindling population. In early October an official representative of the Russian Orthodox Church blasted abortions and surrogacy …