Russia blocks major gay website

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September 24, 2016 | Sex & Society

Russia blocks major gay website

Russia just won't cut its LGBT community any slack. It has now blocked BlueSystem.ru, which was visited by 100,000 people each day.

“The Kremlin is afraid of gays,” the website’s team wrote. “On the eve of the State Duma elections, the Kremlin mobilized its repressive machine and blocked the most popular Runet gay site.”

Back in 2013, the country passed a “gay propaganda law,” which made positive discussions about homosexuality a punishable offense. Activists have been persecuted, attacked and arrested for protesting the law.

This may have given a small court in the city of Parabel in Siberia just what it needed to finally, out of the blue, declare a ban on the site. The country’s telecommunications agency, Roskomnadzor, followed suit and supported the ban.

“LGBT resources get blocked as part of a broader crackdown on freedom of expression online,” Tanya Lokshina, Russia program director for Human Rights Watch, said. “The authorities are also attempting to shut down Children-404 (Deti-404), an online support group for LGBT teens.”

“The BlueSystem website was mainly popular as a dating resource,” explained Pavel Lobkov, a Russian television anchor. “Dating on the internet is like water flowing downhill, it finds its own level, and people will always find a new way to date online.”

He added: “The authorities do not understand that their banning machine is pushing LGBT people to hang out in parks, meet under trees, that sort of thing, which would definitely increase crime in Russia, as has happened in countries like Morocco.”

Yep, Russia sucks.

Russia Bans Top LGBT News Website [Radio Free Europe]

Russia Blocks Its Most Popular Gay Site [Advocate]