Russian President Putin Links Gays to Pedophiles
The repressive fundamentalist views of hard core Eastern Orthodoxy filled the philosophical leadership vacuum left by the collapse of communist tyranny in Russia - now Putin is just the imperial face of the Orthodox neo-nationalist movement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defends Russia’s anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and says Russia needs to “cleanse” itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate.
Putin’s comments in a TV interview broadcast Sunday still show the wide gulf between the perception of homosexuality in Russia versus the West.