Putin's predicament: Harrowing reports of anti-gay violence in Chechnya have Russia's leader in...
SUNDAY, APR 23, 2017 10:00 AM EDT
Putin’s predicament: Harrowing reports of anti-gay violence in Chechnya have Russia’s leader in a tough spot
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is lying about anti-gay brutality. Putin may not care — but he hates bad press
DANIELLE RYAN
Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has publicly denied reports that gay men have been kidnapped and tortured — in some cases even killed — in the semi-autonomous Russian region. These reports have percolated around the world for several weeks, and form the basis for a major investigative report published Friday in the New York Times.
Kadyrov’s denials are not surprising. Nor is it surprising that Russian President Vladimir Putin, for now, seems to be relatively unfazed by those reports.
Meeting with Putin in Moscow this week, the Chechen leader Link to tweet
" target="_blank">publicly denied any anti-gay purge. In the video, sitting opposite Putin, a visibly embarrassed Kadyrov is unable even to say the word “gay.” Instead he refers simply to “provocative articles about the Republic of Chechnya.”
Putin, who is unlikely to have needed the clarification, asks Kadyrov to specify “which articles” exactly he is referring to. Kadyrov still can’t bring himself to say the word. His body language becomes immediately awkward. He shifts around in his chair and takes a deep breath. After beating around the topic for another few seconds, he admits that the subject is “even uncomfortable to talk about” — before continuing to describe the reports of detentions and killings without using the word “gay.”
To fully appreciate how improbable it is that Kadyrov is telling the truth, a little background information is necessary.
more
http://www.salon.com/2017/04/23/putins-predicament-harrowing-reports-of-anti-gay-violence-in-chechnya-have-russias-leader-in-a-tough-spot/
