Antigay Attitudes Intensify in Russia

A new study finds Russians more hostile toward LGBT people than they were eight years ago.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

March 13 2013 2:54 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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As Russia contemplates a new national antigay law, a new survey indicates hostility to LGBT people in the country is on the rise.

In the survey released Tuesday by the Levada Center, a Russian polling organization, 22% of respondents said they think LGBT people should be "cured," up five percentage points from eight years ago, when a similar poll was conducted, Gay Star News reports. Some 23% of respondents expressed a live-and-let-live attitude toward the LGBT population, down seven percentage points in the past eight years. A total of 16% said LGBTs should be isolated from society, up from 12% in the previous study.

Other findings included that 85% opposed same-sex marriage, 87% did not want gay pride celebrations in their cities, 80% opposed letting gay couples adopt children, and 5% said LGBT people should be "liquidated."

The survey of 1,600 Russians, conducted in February, comes as the national government considers a law against "homosexual propaganda" similar to those enacted in the city of St. Petersburg and nine other cities or regions. The law would impose fines for any positive public mentions of homosexuality that might be accessible to minors, in effect outlawing pride parades and other public events. It was approved by the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, in January, but must go through two more votes and be signed by President Vladimir Putin before taking effect.