The Putin government's homophobic policies are having a massive impact on the lives of LGBT people and the care of people living with HIV in Russia. An interview with LGBT activists Sergey Gubanov and Evgeny Pisemskiy. Interview by Ljuba Böttger.
Sergey Gubanov and Evgeny Pisemskiy and 13 other activists from Moscow's LGBT communities, who had visited Berlin at the invitation of the "Raduga Bridge Berlin-Moscow" initiative, were guests at Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe on 4 November 2014.
Sergey comes from Smolensk and has lived in Moscow for seven years. As a young man, he fell in love with a Moscow activist and got to know the LGBT community. Sergey works as a freelancer and insurance broker and has been a volunteer at the Rainbow Association for five years. The non-profit association campaigns for human rights and organises film and cultural events on topics such as coming out, LGBT and HIV/Aids.
Evgeny is the head of the self-help organisation "Phoenix Plus", which supports people with HIV and Aids, such as in the Elton John project, in which gay men who have been living with HIV for some time accompany and support newly diagnosed "peers". The project also aims to sensitise the Russian public to HIV issues.
How are Russian children and young people educated? Are there any sex education lessons at school?
Sergey: Sex education is no longer taught in schools in Russia. When I went to school, twelve years ago, we were taught about sexuality, our own bodies, pregnancy and the risks of drug use at least twice a year in the last few classes. But even then, same-sex love and sexual identity were not discussed in class. When I later studied to become a teacher and completed educational science courses, there was never any discussion about sexuality or even same-sex sex - it was simply taboo.
And today? If, for example, young people want to or have to deal with homosexuality, they are not prepared for it at all, because nobody teaches them about it at school, not even about sexuality in general.
On 11 June 2013, the Russian government signed the law against "homosexual propaganda", which effectively bans any positive or neutral portrayal of same-sex lifestyles. How has this law affected young people who have already come out as homosexual in their social environment?
Sergey: In the documentary film "deti-404", produced in 2014, it is precisely these young people who report on the extent to which marginalisation and humiliation increased after the law was passed - in schools, but also in families and the rest of the social environment. As was to be expected, this film was not released for screenings at public events.
I know the main actor, Pavel, personally. In the film, he talks about the difficulties he encountered after he came out. His classmates and even the class teacher bullied and humiliated him, not only psychologically but also physically. In the film, he describes the last year and a half of his school days before he goes to Canada.
The current situation in schools is extremely critical. Children receive no sex education at all and teachers watch as schoolchildren organise hunts for LGBT young people. The government is not lifting a finger to address stigmatisation in schools and take action against it.
How can LGBT people get to know each other in such a homophobic country? Is it dangerous to date strangers?
Evgeny: "I think that people from the LGBT community get to know each other in Russia just like they do in Germany. There are websites where sex is offered and sought. And there are also apps like Grindr, for example the Russian-language app "Hunters". However, the probability of getting into dangerous situations when dating online is much higher than in Germany. In Russia, some people think that it is right to repress or even eradicate the LGBT community. There was also a group that made it their mission to track down gays and lesbians, and there were violent attacks.
But the government is hardly doing anything about it. Because if it were to intervene, it would be tantamount to recognising the LGBT community. Instead, state bodies look for other ways to take action against such attacks. For example, the head of a homophobic group was convicted of "radical nationalist acts" and sent to prison.
Sergey: The civil servants are even worse. They receive social approval for their homophobic actions and feel they are in the right. Their actions are legitimised and so they can do what they want without losing their jobs.
What is the situation regarding medical care for people with HIV in Russia?
Evgeny: According to official figures, gay men make up only two per cent of the total number of HIV-positive people in Russia, which is of course not true. This is because it is much easier for gay men to get medical treatment if they pretend to be drug users; this group is particularly affected by HIV in Russia. HIV-positive people who come out as gay to the doctor are first "treated" for homosexuality - they do not receive professional HIV treatment or are even sent away.
There are very few HIV-positive people who disclose their sexual orientation to their doctor or in their social environment. Even doctors are afraid to talk about this topic and cannot deal with being confronted with homosexuality. With our Elton John project, we are trying to change this situation.
Life for HIV-positive LGBT people in Russia will be correspondingly difficult.
Evgeny: HIV-positive drug users are usually supported by their family, friends and doctors. LGBT families living with HIV, on the other hand, receive no help and are neither supported by their social environment nor by doctors. In addition to stigmatisation based on sexual identity, it is AIDS phobia that pushes those affected out of society.
Is HIV-PrEP - HIV medication for negative people to prevent infection - an issue in Russia's LGBT community?
Evgeny: Yes, people are already talking about it, but PrEP is not offered anywhere. The LGBT community has provided the initial impetus for discussing PrEP, but the health authorities are not talking about it - where HIV is a taboo subject, there is no talk of modern prevention approaches. If medical treatment is offered at all, then it is conventional therapies.
