<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[The Dish]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://dish.andrewsullivan.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Andrew Sullivan]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/author/sullydish/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Putin Still Has Time To Persecute Gay&nbsp;People]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>His machinations in Ukraine may have stolen the spotlight, but Jay Michaelson <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/09/homophobia-in-russia-is-taking-a-kafkaesque-turn.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29" target="_blank">reminds us</a> that things are still very bad and getting even worse for Russia&#8217;s gays:</p>
<blockquote><p>According to [Tatiana] Vinnichenko, [director of the LGBT organization Rakurs,] Russian authorities are putting pressure on all <a href="https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="183998" data-permalink="https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/08/01/cancel-that-moscow-summit-mr-president/united-russia-party-congress-convenes/" data-orig-file="https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg" data-orig-size="3000,2055" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Sasha Mordovets&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS-1D Mark IV&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Russia&#039;s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin participates in the United Russia Party congress in Moscow,Russia, September, 23,2011. The two-days congress is to approve the list for Russian State Duma elections scheduled on December,4. Photo by Sasha Mordovets\/Getty Images&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1316790053&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2011 Sasha Mordovets&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;260&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;United Russia Party Congress Convenes&quot;}" data-image-title="United Russia Party Congress Convenes" data-image-description="&lt;p&gt;Russia&#8217;s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin participates in the United Russia Party congress in Moscow,Russia, September, 23,2011. The two-days congress is to approve the list for Russian State Duma elections scheduled on December,4. Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images&lt;/p&gt;
" data-medium-file="https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg?w=300&#038;h=205" data-large-file="https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg?w=1024" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-183998" src="https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg?w=300&#038;h=205" alt="United Russia Party Congress Convenes" width="300" height="205" srcset="https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg?w=300&amp;h=205 300w, https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg?w=600&amp;h=410 600w, https://sullydish.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/126207266.jpg?w=150&amp;h=103 150w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>kinds of institutions—banks, landlords, employers—not to do business with LGBT people and LGBT organizations. Because licenses are required for just about everything in Russia, this “pressure” is existential. Banks are being told, “Dump your LGBT customers, or we’ll shut you down,” she said.</p>
<p>In Vinnichenko’s case, the threat is immediate and personal. A mother of two, she works for the Northern Federal University. Her employers have been pressured from above and have in turn <a href="http://queerussia.info/2014/05/23/5263/" target="_blank">demanded</a> that she stop her advocacy work. “I am going on leave, because you cannot be fired while on leave, but as soon as I return, I expect to be fired,” she said. How she will replace her lost income, especially as she is publicly blacklisted, she has no idea.</p>
<p>Rakurs’s bank and landlord have come under similar pressure.</p></blockquote>
<p>This is a form of eliminationism, further evidence that Putin&#8217;s regime is effectively a fascist one.</p>
<p>Previous Dish on Putin&#8217;s anti-gay crackdown <a href="http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/02/05/russias-gay-bashing-culture-ctd/">here</a> and <a href="http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/02/03/russias-gay-bashing-culture/">here</a>.</p>
<p>(Photo: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)</p>
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