Why does russia hate gay people

Russian officials seemingly want to both. The international organization Human Rights Watch warned last week (Feb. Russia paper warned over Chechnya reports. Reports of a campaign against gay men by Chechen security forces have been trickling through since early April when they first appeared in a Russian newspaper.

4) that harassment and violence against gays, lesbians and bisexual and transgender people in Russia is widespread and may. Now some of the alleged victims are starting to speak out. Victims of the crackdown - who were either gay or just perceived to be gay - were being held at a detention centre near Argun, 20km 13 miles from the city of Grozny, she said.

Chechen officials have denied gay people even exist in the republic, amid reports of arrests and torture. Homophobia is widespread in Chechnya. In , parliament passed a law imposing heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under 18 , sparking international controversy.

Even now, he is frightened of being identified. Russia provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people and does not have a designation for hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. On Friday, Mr Putin said he would personally ask the prosecutor general and interior minister to help Kremlin rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova check the reported abuse.

He was responding to the ombudswoman's request to set up a "working group" somewhere in Russia, but not in Chechnya, to "take complaints from citizens" on the reported abuse. Chechen police 'torturing gay men'. Image source, AFP. Chechen police 'torturing gay men' Russia paper warned over Chechnya reports.

Instead, the country’s anti-LGBTQ drive has been cultivated and honed by the Kremlin, which is motivated by both foreign and domestic policy concerns. Russia was ranked as the most dangerous place for LGBTQ people in Europe in But it wasn’t always like that. Now he's in a safe house for men fleeing detention and torture for being gay.

More on this story. A Chechen government spokesman, Alvi Karimov, denied the allegations. Read more of his story. German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week urged the Russian authorities to help protect gay rights. Chechnya's strongman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, said on Friday he was ready to co-operate with the federal authorities on the issue.

Activists say a number of Chechen gay people have been forced to flee the republic. These measures have had wide-ranging social repercussions. But Mr Kadyrov again insisted there were no "people of non-traditional orientation" in the predominantly Muslim republic, part of the Russian Federation.

Despite some stereotypes, Russian society is not virulently queerphobic by default. Homosexuality was decriminalised in the Russian Federation in but concern about homophobia remains high. Between and , over 1, hate crimes were committed against queer people in Russia, resulting in deaths.

This video can not be played. During a meeting with Ms Moskalkova, the president referred to the reports as "rumours, you could say, about what is happening in our North Caucasus with people of non-traditional orientation", using a euphemism for gay people. Just a few weeks ago, "Ruslan" was with his wife and children in Chechnya.

Transgender people are not allowed to change their legal gender and all gender-affirming care is banned. Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed an inquiry into a reported crackdown on gay people in the republic of Chechnya, in the North Caucasus. He said he would personally ask the prosecutor general and the interior minister to check the reports.