When Russian President Vladimir Putin banned gay “propaganda” in June last year, Russia’s LGBT community went from being a stigmatized fringe group to full-blown enemies of the state. Homophobia becoming legislation means it’s now not only accepted in Russia but actively encouraged, which has led to a depressing rise in homophobic attacks and murders.
The main aim of the law, which essentially bans any public display of homosexuality, is to prevent minors from getting the impression that being gay is normal. Which means that, if you’re young and gay in Putin’s Russia, you’re ostracized and cut off from any kind of legal support network.
In part 1 we get a ride with Artem, a young driver for Moscow’s gay taxi service “Our Taxi”, meet Nikita, a 17-year-old activist who has been labeled a “propagandist” because of his LGBT rights YouTube channel, and Yulia, a young lesbian who started LGBT self defense classes after her favorite gay bar in Moscow was attacked by about 20 armed men in October 2012.
In part two we meet 17-year-old activist Nikita who has been labeled a “propagandist” because of his YouTube channel about LGBT rights. Part of his activism deals with teaching young homosexuals how to protect themselves online, particularly against vigilante groups like the neo-Nazi Occupy Pedofilyay who arrange meetings with gay men and teenagers, then make YouTube clips in which they abuse them, using methods ranging from “urine therapy” to fatal assaults.
In episode 3 we meet Katia from Pussy Riot and some of Russia’s core LGBT activists, Alexei Davydov, Ray and Nix, who stage protest actions to raise awareness about the sometimes fatal implications of the homophobic law, like the rise in suicides among LGBT teenagers. A conversation with our driver Artem sheds light onto why there are still so few gay rights activists in Russia.
In episode 4 we meet one of Putin’s spin doctors, Alexey Mukhin, who is the Director General of the Center for Political Information. Before the law was passed, he published a report assessing public opinion and warning that, unless action was taken, Russia could face a gay revolution. We also follow activist Nikolai Alexeyev, the organizer of Moscow’s now banned Pride Parade, to an action by the Sochi Olympics Headquarters. He explains why Russia’s LGBT activists are against the West’s calls for a boycott of the Olympics.
In episode 5, having witnessed the wide implications of the anti-gay “propaganda” law, we meet up with the man behind the legislation. We also talk to Masha Gessen, a journalist famous for her critical best seller about Putin and who has been called the “number one enemy of the state” because of her activism. Then Nikita announces tragic news.