Yeah I have heard quite a lot about homophobia in Russia and racism against blacks, especially around the time of the London 2012 Olympics; as the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held there. People were worried about the safety of Black and LGBT athletes because the Russian government and general Russian opinion on basically anyone who is different was very negative (with lots of violent instances against minorities having been reported). The Russian govt. is also very openly opposed to Gay Rights. I think if homophobia exists you have a legitimate reason to fight and scrutinize the country's current position on human rights (thats with any country, not only Russia and not only GayRights); just as feminists and other activists have a very legitimate reason to scrutinize and fight misogyny in Saudi Arabia. I think with such high levels of homophobic feelings, it will take a long time for LGBT's to be accepted in Russia as they are in the U.S. or Western Europe. So.. the original article is not surprising to me. Russian court ruling bans gay group from 2014 Winter Olympics | San Diego Gay and Lesbian News
