Copyright © 2021 Euromaidanpress.com

The work of Euromaidan Press is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation

When referencing our materials, please include an active hyperlink to the Euromaidan Press material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. To reprint anything longer, written permission must be acquired from [email protected].

Privacy and Cookie Policies.

Concentration camps for gays? Fake news, claims Russian human rights official

Authorities' crackdown of a gay parade in Moscow, Russia, 2011 (Image: varlamov.ru)
Authorities’ crackdown of a gay parade in Moscow, Russia, 2011 (Image: varlamov.ru)
Edited by: A. N.

Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian human rights ombudsman, says that she has determined that Moscow media reports about the mistreatment of LGBT people in Chechnya should not be believed because Chechen officials say they are untrue and add that no one has complained to them about this situation.

The Chechen officials, of course, are hardly a disinterested or independent source: any of them who contradicted Ramzan Kadyrov on this point would at a minimum not be acting in a career-enhancing way. But more seriously, no one in the LGBT community in Chechnya could be expected to complain to the very officials whose colleagues have visited repression on them.

Indeed, Moskalkova’s words, even though they are likely to be cited for purposes of “balance” and “objectivity” by Moscow and Western sources are little more than the latest reprise of a classic Soviet anecdote from the 1970s.

According to that story, an old Jew from Moscow applied for an exit visa to go to the United States. He was called in by the KGB and asked why he wanted to leave. Was he unhappy with his work? “I have no complaints,” the Jew said; were his children having difficulty in getting into the right schools. Again the answer, “I have no complaints.”

This exchange went on for some time, and finally the KGB officer asked, “Well, if you have no complaints, why do you want to go the United States?” The old Jew replied that the reason was obvious: “Once I am there,” he said, “I will be able to have complaints,” one benefit Soviet life could never hope to offer him.


 

Edited by: A. N.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.  We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!
Total
0
Shares