z.umn.edu/MURAJ Abuse of LGBT Rights and Government Legitimacy in Russia By Mitchell Walstad Introduction Rights and protections for LGBT people have advanced at different paces and in different political moments around the world. The 1960s and 1970s saw the beginnings of the LGBT movement in the United States with a strong public reaction and support for the Stonewall Riots. Advances in LGBT protections in Europe were rapid throughout the beginning of the 21st century, with over two dozen countries there now recognizing same-sex marriage. But, in other parts of the world, LGBT people are still routinely killed for openly expressing same-sex attraction or non-cisgender identities. “Honor killings” of LGBT family members are common throughout Europe and Asia, and homosexuality is punishable by death in some places. When the Soviet Union dissolved between 1989 and 1991, it appeared as if there was an opportunity for the advancement of gay rights in many of the former Soviet states. Democracy was taking hold in some, and there seemed to be hope Putin is needed, along with an exploration of the for a genuine push for new protections for LGBT need for genuine democracy to advance the rights people internationally. While some former Soviet of LGBT people. While democracy may be states have made significant progress in support of requisite to advance gay rights, the absence of LGBT people within their borders, one state has democracy does not necessarily result in an attack notably pursued policies that seek to create barriers on gay rights. Rather, due to the need for for gay people in society: Russia. With hope for a legitimacy in many non-democratic political genuine transition to democracy less than 20 years regimes, I argue that through seeking legitimacy in ago, it seems that any democratic ideals are absent non-democratic governments, the absence of from the country’s government today. But with democracy diminishes gay rights. In other other former Soviet states making progress in countries that have comparable Freedom House democracy and in gay rights, there is an important Scores to Russia, gay rights are placed in higher question to ask: Why do LGBT people have fewer esteem. For democracy to be the decisive factor in rights and protections in Russia than in other the acquisition of gay rights, this comparison former Soviet states and communist states around creates a serious reason for doubt. Looking to the world? To answer this, a deeper understanding Russia, I argue that a comprehensive of domestic political factors that create legitimacy understanding of how the Putin regime creates its for the Russian government under Vladimir legitimacy is necessary to understand why gay 1 interplay between plants and bees, each helping the other. Development of prairieland for agricultural use affects indigenous bee communities, which have historically inhabited prairie regions. Adverse rights are under attack. Lack of political freedom, In addition to religion, democracy is a less- ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, anti-Western looked to but also important factor in assessing rhetoric, and public opinion of gays and lesbians how rights for LGBT people are obtained. One make it imperative that the Putin government analysis of gay rights and democracy comes from subjugate gay people. In order to maintain Omar Encarnación in Gay Rights: Why Democracy legitimacy from these other sources, rights of Matters. Encarnación notes that “the nature of LGBT people have been systematically denied in the political regime is a better predictor of gay Russia. rights than either economic development or cultural factors such as religion,” (Encarnación, Literature Review 2014, 97). This conclusion comes from Even in the West, rights of LGBT people comparing regime types in countries to laws on have only been recently normalized. As the same-sex adoption, military service, marriage, and expansion of gay rights around the world discrimination. The argument that democracy continues, so does the body of research about what increases the ability for gay rights to take hold in actually guarantees these rights. The currently a country relies on the ability for citizens to limited body of research into international gay advocate for them through civil society, strong rights provides challenges for relying on past rule of law, and evidence from the third wave research, while simultaneously providing an of democratization, in which countries like opportunity to contribute new and unique ideas to Spain and South Africa democratized and adopted this growing body of work. laws allowing same-sex marriage shortly after Much of the previous work that exists (Encarnación, 99). around LGBT rights assesses the impact of religion Correlation does not necessarily equal and wealth on LGBT rights within a country. causation, and the United States is an excellent Looking to Russia specifically, much of this focus is example of this when comparing gay rights and on the impact of religion. Radzhana Buyantueva’s democracy. While civil society can be used for article in the Journal of Homosexuality looks LGBT people and their allies to advocate for gay further into how the Russian state’s connection to rights, it can be used in the same way by people the Russian Orthodox Church makes difficult the who seek to hold back rights for gay people. In the acquisition of rights for gays and lesbians, and Cai United States, individual states are left to Wilkinson comes to a similar conclusion in his implement many laws regarding rights for LGBT article in the Journal of Human Rights. As the people, including non-discrimination laws, gender Russian government has intertwined itself with the marker changes on government documents, and Russian Orthodox Church since the Soviet Union’s conversion therapy (Human Rights Campaign collapse, state policies have been influence by the 2018). Understanding how civil society can be used desires of religious leaders. These leaders have both for and against gay rights is important to publically voiced support for anti-LGBT acts understand when assessing how rights of these committed by the Russian government people can be advanced internationally. (Buyantueva, 2017, 469). Drawing on past literature, it is clear that MURAJ • z.umn.edu/MURAJ 2 genuine democracy is a necessary prerequisite for LGBT equality due to the necessity for a strong civil society and rule of law. All legislative gains for LGBT people have come as a result of advocacy campaigns by LGBT people and their Figure 1- Categories of the Global Barometer of Gay Rights allies, while rule of law has created an avenue (Dicklitch et al. 2016) through judicial systems to advance gay rights as well. However, due to the experiences around gay Some of the 29 items taken into rights in the US, it is understood that democracy consideration include the presence of a death alone cannot secure gay rights. As outlined below, penalty for homosexuality, whether homosexuality legitimacy related to political freedom, religion, is legal, civil unions or marriage for homosexuals, public opinion, and Russia’s role in the world whether a majority of citizens are accepting of against the West create conditions for LGBT rights homosexuality, if gays are allowed to organize, to be pushed aside. whether there is anti-discrimination legislation for housing, and if there are known acts of violence or The Status Quo of LGBT Rights murders against homosexuals (Dicklitch et al. The 21st century has seen a rapid expansion 2016). In Figure 2, these countries can be seen of rights for LGBT people. Marriage equality has geographically. The scale follows the same coloring passed in many places, along with rights for as Figure 1. adoption, gender designation on government documents, and health care for members of the LGBT community. However, almost all of these advances have come from western democracies. Some were guaranteed through the legislative process and others through the court system, but they all fell back on the principles of democratic forms of governance. The Global Barometer of Gay Rights provides an analysis of the current status of gay rights around the the world. This analysis takes Figure 2- Map of Global Barometer of Gay Rights Categories into consideration 29 factors, giving each a score of (Dicklitch et al. 2016) either “+1” or “0”. The total score out of 29 is then divided by 29 to create a percentage. The Perhaps the most striking part of this image percentages for each category, persecuting through is the concentration of red, the persecuting protecting, can be seen in Figure 1. classification, in African and Asian countries. MURAJ • z.umn.edu/MURAJ 3 While religion and government type may “persecuting” gay people by the Global Barometer of account for part of this geographic divide, other less Gay Rights, they are not places where LGBT people are obvious factors also appear to cause an impact. killed for their sexual orientation. For these countries and the former Soviet Union states, I have reworked Democracy and LGBT Rights the Freedom House and Global Barometer of Gay To further correlate regime and government Rights scores to more clearly show how they compare type with gay rights, I have complied a comparison to each other. The Freedom House Scores in this between Freedom House Scores and the Global section are inverted, where a 7 is most-free and a 1 is Barometer of Gay Rights for former Soviet Union least-free (8-Original Freedom House Score= States. I briefly touch on Western democracies and Scores Presented). The Global Barometer of Gay communist states in this section to provide a Rights scores are originally out of 100 percentage comparison to the former Soviet Union states. points. To better compare these scores, I have scale this percentage to be out of 7 as the Freedom Western Democracies House Scores are.