Dear Readers:
Starting today, I am branching out a bit and may do some translations from the Ukrainian language, from time to time. Not that I speak a word of Ukrainian (I don’t), nor have I formally studied the grammar in a classroom or from books. But just reading it, I can kind of get the gist, plus I have online dictionaries to help me in case I get stuck on a word or two. But please forgive me in advance if I make some mistakes. I will try to get better, maybe even take some classes, or something, when I have more free time.
Ukrainian homosexuals fight for the right to exist
To ease myself in, I will start with a short piece, so, today, here is our story, it’s about the upcoming Gay Pride parade in Kiev, which is scheduled to take place on June 12.
Well, whether the event actually takes place, is another story altogether. Because Ukrainian neo-Nazi political parties have promised to bust it up, like they always do. And do with impunity, with police standing by, yawning. Since the ultra-right in Ukraine pretty much own the streets.
Gay Rights In the Ukraine
But first some historical context…
This wiki entry is wrong about a couple of things, I believe. For starters, unless I am very mistaken, homosexuality (aka “sodomy”) was not illegal in the Soviet Union. At least not since late-Stalin times. Therefore I do not believe that the Soviet legal code banned “same-sex sexuality”. How could it? A legal code cannot ban such a vague thing, it can only ban specific acts. And, like I said, sodomy between consenting adults was not illegal in Soviet times, as far as I know.
In any case, modern-day Ukraine has pretty much the same legislation, on the books, as does modern-day Russia. Homosexuality per se is not illegal; there is a form of civil union; but gay marriage is not in the cards. Sex-change operations are legal. Everything is pretty much standard fare. On the books.
In the Ukraine, Nazi militias own the streets.
Being an open homosexual in the Ukraine was never easy to begin with. Gays faced discrimination and violence at the every-day level even before the 2014 coup. But after the coup, things got even worse, if such can be imagined.
The main problem is the lack of law and order, and the fact that Nazi mobs, rather than legitimate law-and-order organs, own the streets. And these Nazis do NOT like gay people, no sirree. Now, in civilized countries, people have to put up with a lot of things they don’t like. They might morally object to seeing people, whom they consider to be degenerates, prancing down the streets having their own type of “carnival” fun. But since those people have a legal permit, then the ones who don’t like it, simply stay home and shut their doors for a couple of hours. Next week it will be their turn to do something that the other side don’t like. And neither side tries to bash in the skulls of the other side, because the police will keep them separate, and if somebody breaks the law they will be punished.
This is the definition of a civilized country. Ukraine is not one of those.
Which brings us back to our story about the Gay Parade
Artem Skopadsky, who is the Press Secretary of the Right Sektor neo-Nazi political party, wrote the following threat on his Facebook page (and here is the bit where I have to translate from Ukrainian):
Banderite Ape Mykola Kohanivsky exercising his throwing arm
Our colleagues from the OUN movement [Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, aka the “Banderites”], headed by Mykola Kohanivsky, came forward with a very strong statement on the theme of the gay parade in Kiev. In brief, 12 June will be a bloody hash. The organizers [of the parade] still have time to re-consider.
Here is the official statement of the OUN movement. It starts off with a Biblical quote from Ezekiel 16:49-50:
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
And continues with:
God distances himself from sinners sodomites, lesbians, and those who lay with cattle. And today they are trying to make us to get accustomed to LGBT parades and festivals. In other words, enlist in the ranks of sinners and those who cover up for sinners. No! We are not about to calmly look on, while the country, for which we gave our lives on the front lines, falls victim to the base methods of hybrid warfare.
[the rest of the Facebook entry, which is just a screenshot, is hidden from view, but I think you get the gist].
In conclusion: The theologians of the Bandera movement plan to put a stop to a legally-authorized public gathering, which they do not approve of, using the means they always use to express their moral disapproval: Through raw and naked violence.
Awful Avalanche 
“We are not about to calmly look on, while the country, for which we gave our lives on the front lines, falls victim to the base methods of hybrid warfare.”
Soooo… Putin now weaponizes… gays?! Oh, the Dark and Evil One is indeed all-powerful!
LikeLike
Well, Westies have weaponized the gays against Putin, so maybe turn-about is fair play.
And actually, come to think of it, there might be some truth in this claim.
Since Putin pardoned the murderess Savchenko and sent her back to Kiev wearing her “Pride Power” tee-shirt!
Who knows what will happen next.
LikeLike
Why don’t they move to the West?
LikeLike
Who dey?
LikeLike
The Gays.
Why do they keep provoking other Ukrainians?
LikeLike
Dear anonym:
By “other Ukrainians” do you mean Right Sektor and the Banderites?
Seems like it don’t take too much to provoke those guys.
From that angle, one could say that the Odessa “colorado beetles” also provoked these guys by setting up camp on Kulikovo Field. And got themselves fried alive, for their efforts.
Do you really believe that the Banderites should rule the streets, and decide, who gets to live and who has to die?
Okay, here is what I believe, I will spell it out for you:
(1) I believe that law-abiding gays in Ukraine, or anywhere, have the right to exist and live, and do whatever they like in the privacy of their bedrooms with other consenting adults, and not be murdered by street thugs, or forced to emigrate, unless they want to.
(2) I think that gay pride marches are silly. In Western countries they are harmless carnival, which everyone has gotten used to. In traditional cultures they are divisive, which is why Westies promote them, as a way of splitting and controlling traditional societies.
(3) I think that in Ukraine intelligent gays should stay in the closet and keep their heads down, at least until the Banderite Nazis have been cleared out and the streets become safer.
(4) I believe that people who call for violence against other groups of people, are simply damaged souls who need to repent for their lack of humanity.
And please remember that the motto of my blog is “Human Dignity”.
LikeLike
Sir Elton and Conchita will drop in with crack troops of Femen and Pussy Riot (Airborne Division).
LikeLike
This crack brigade of mavericks call themselves “The Flying Pussies”.
LikeLike
Interesting to see that gay pride parades are considered, by a semi-legal body which exists thanks to the government’s favour, to be ‘hybrid warfare’. No wonder Porky and Erdogan get along so well. This certainly bodes well for Ukraine’s rapid entry to the European Union.
LikeLike
I’ve never researched the question in academic sources, but I’ve seen a number of different journalistic sources refer to the Stalin-era sodomy law as only being repealed in 1991. As one example,
The federal bill’s expected adoption comes 20 years after a Stalinist-era law punishing homosexuality with up to five years in prison was removed from Russia’s penal code as part of the democratic reforms that followed the Soviet Union’s collapse.
from this article
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/russian-gov-t-and-orthodox-church-push-anti-sodomy-propaganda-law-protect-youth
or,
From the 1930s until the 1980s, persecution of homosexuals “was the only thing the two superpowers agreed on,” said Fiks,
from this article
Again, I haven’t checked this in academic sources, so it could be just a very widespread mistake, but the idea that the sodomy law existed until 1991 seems to at least be very common.
LikeLike
Hi, Ryan,
Thanks for your research.
You are probably right, but I think the issue is confused by the fact that some people are combining the issue of actual sodomy laws, with the issue of discrimination and abhorrence in general. For example, this wiki entry is pretty good but also somewhat muddle-headed, it does point out that the early Bolsheviks, under Lenin, de-criminalized specific homosexual acts, such as sodomy. And then goes on to confuse illegality with social ostracism.
So, you’re right, under Stalin, there was re-criminalization, the Article 121. But again, there is confusion about whether Article 121 criminalizes ALL homsexual acts, or just those between adults and minors (=pedophilia). It doesn’t help, that in Russian popular culture, the two concepts have always been confused; and that the very derogatory slang word for a homosexual is the same as the word for a pederast, “pidor”.
Be that as it may, I found this interesting what appears to be a gay or at least pro-gay Stalinist website which lays out some interesting history.
According to them, Moreover, I think it should also be pointed out that, despite the view that homosexuality was a mental disorder, the actual law in question, Article 121 of the Soviet Criminal Code, was pretty much only enforced in cases of pedophilia, with some 800 – 1000 prosecutions annually..
In other words, even if the legislation was on the books, it was enforced selectively.
Just like in the U.S. around the same era!
LikeLike
I vaguely remember some stories of 70s ballet dancers who were blackmailed for their homosexual activity and were to face prison if it was brought to light. Btw in law if I remember correctly it wasn’t called “sodomy” but “muzhelozhestvo” literally “man laying”. Not sure if lesbians were subject to this law =)
Anyway as far as I understand it was one of those laws severity of which was compensated by it’s rare application.
LikeLike
From what I understand, even the harshest Stalinist laws did not prohibit lesbianism.
Lesbians usually get a pass, even in traditional societies. Reason being, that people consider male homosexuals to be a threat to children; but lesbians obviously no threat to children.
LikeLike