Gays Being Hunted Like Animals In Russia

Gays Being Hunted Like Animals In Russia

With the Winter Olympics beginning tonight, we’re going to see a lot more of Russia in the next few weeks. However, behind the spectacle, members of the gay community there are being hunted down like animals by vigilante groups.

Investigative reporter, Liz Mackean’s documentary, Hunted, was broadcast on UK TV last night. The film is a bleak and brutal depiction of what life is really like in Russia for the gay community right now.

“Only 1% of the gay population dares to live openly,” says Mackean. New propaganda laws introduced by Vladimir Putin may in theory not be a ban on “non-traditional sexual relationships”, but the reality is that their implementation has driven the gay community underground and legitimized vigilante groups who are attacking, humiliating and abusing their victims in what Mackean describes as “a wave of terror”.

There are more than 37 groups all over Russia of a gang called Occupy Pedophilia. There is a government sanctioned collective view that gayness is linked pedophilia in the country. The gangs lure gay men by settings up meetings with them on social media, pretending to offer friendship. In one horrific scene of the film, the St Petersburg branch of the gang trap a gay man and then pin him down in a flat before beating him up and then videotaping him admitting he is gay on camera.

The trend for capturing gay men, filming them being tortured and posting the videos online to shame them is continually growing. More extreme and disturbing treatment shown in Hunted include men being stripped naked, having urine poured over them. Some are beaten violently and filmed giving tearful interviews with guns being pointed at them.

Perhaps the most shocking element of the whole documentary is the brazen nature of the attackers. They were happy to be filmed for the documentary because they wanted to let the world know what they are doing and they are openly proud about it. Nobody covers their faces or doesn’t want to be identified. There is no fear of repercussions, even for the most sinister actions.

In an interview, President Putin said: “What, are we supposed to follow along like obedient lapdogs, towards whatever consequences await? We have our own traditions, our own culture. We have respect for all of our international partners and ask that they also respect our own traditions and culture.”

Hopefully, when the Olympics are over and the cameras switch off, the world won’t forget about our brothers and sisters in Russia.