 Source: HRO.org (info) 85% of Russians are opposed to same-sex marriages in Russia and practically the same number (87%) do not want gay pride parades to be held on a regular basis in Russian cities, reports the Levada Centre research organisation, which carried out a survey among the adult population in February. According to their data, the number of supporters of same-sex marriage has fallen over the last three years from 14% to 5% and the number of people not opposed to gay parades has stayed the same on 6%. Tolerance towards people with different sexual orientation and an understanding of their problems was found in 23% of Russian people, who suggest that these people should be left in peace to be themselves; another 27% believe that such people need psychological help. The rest of society has firm opinions on the issue: 16% believe that homosexuals should be isolated from society, 22% think they should be forced to undergo treatment, and 5% think they should be "eliminated" completely, reports Fontanka.ru, quoting Gazeta.ru. The number of people who think that gay men and lesbians should be allowed to be themselves has fallen by 7%, while the number of people who think that these people need treatment has risen by 5%, and the number of people who think they should be isolated from society has gone up by 4%. Out of the 1,600 people who took part in the survey, which was carried out in 130 cities and towns in 45 regions of Russia, 80% were against gay couples being given the right to adopt children, while 5% were not against, and 15% had no opinion on this issue. Meanwhile, the previous day the British actor, writer and comedian Stephen Fry arrived in St. Petersburg to shoot a film about the problems faced by the LGBT community in Russia. Fry wrote on Twitter “Off to St Petersburg tomorrow for some filming. Something tells me that warm clothing will be required...” He is also known as one of the most famous gay people in the world to stand up in support of minorities in St. Petersburg, reports NEWSru Israel. On arriving in St. Petersburg the British actor wrote that he was very pleased with the Russian welcome at the airport and would like to stay in the city long enough to relax. As RIA Novy Region reports, Stephen Fry came out in support of sexual minorities in St. Petersburg after the adoption of the law banning the promotion of homosexuality. He is also famous for his reaction to the arrest of Pussy Riot, giving a witty reply to one Russian who asked him how many Russian words Stephen knew and whether he could judge something he did not understand, reports Newsru.com. It turned out that he knew the words svoboda (freedom) and spravedlivost (justice). |
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