New poll shows staggering 83% of Russians believe gay people are ‘reprehensible’

by Tim Gibson (mygwork)

A new poll shows the unsettling ramifications of Russia’s anti-LGBT laws and a dramatic rise in homophobic attitudes. Polling that came out earlier this week from the Moscow Times reported 83% of Russians consider it “always reprehensible” for two adults to engage in gay sex. A huge increase from 68% in 1998 and 76% in 2008. Previous polling revealed younger Russians to be less homophobic but this new result shows them to share the same attitudes as older Russians.

The new polling data may not come as much of a surprise after Putin’s globally condemned anti-‘gay propaganda’ law came into effect in 2013. This saw the outlawing of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” and essentially forbade any public display of homosexuality or any support of LGBT rights.

The law was heavily condemned by the European Court of Human Rights and put the UK in an awkward position. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson recently visited Russia in a tense visit where he met local campaigners for LGBT rights. Johnson admitted “this is a difficult time in the relations between the UK and Russia… We can’t ignore (gay propaganda laws), we can’t pretend they don’t exist… We speak up for the LGBT community… as people would expect from us, but they would also expect that Britain and Russia… should be able, where possible, to coordinate and to work together on the issues that matter to our voters.”

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