Russia’s Culture Of Anti-LGBT Bigotry Is Seeping Across Its Borders
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The recent spike of anti-LGBT legislation and animus out of Russia has been as wrenching as it’s been publicized. Videos, reports, coverage – journalists and NGOs and Western governments have called out Putin’s bigoted populism. Criticizing Putin’s focus on majority tyranny has been, fortunately, a common thread of coverage during the Olympics.
Unfortunately, such coverage hasn’t yet dissuaded Moscow from its prejudiced policies. Moreover, as we’ve seen over the past few weeks, such bigotry is seeping into other post-Soviet states.
Take, for example, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, both of which have Russia on their northern borders, and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, a pair of post-Soviet countries further south of Russia.
While suicides in Azerbaijan and movements against “lesbianism†in Kazakhstan have generated some articles, a pair of calls from the highest religious authorities in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan could potentially be even more worrisome for LGBT rights in the region. (They also reek of even greater hypocrisy than we’ve seen out of Moscow, but more on that in a moment.)
Earlier this month, Tajikistan’s grand mufti, the government-sanctioned leader of the nation’s massive Muslim community, singled out the LGBT community for its especial role in crumbling nations. As the mufti noted:
“I am ashamed that this topic is to be discussed in the mosque. Unfortunately, I have heard about the homosexual orientation of educated and cultural people, who refused relationships with their wives and women and who commit the sin of sodomy,” independent Tajik agencies quoted [the grand mufti] as saying.
“I warn you against such sinful behavior. Each nation, who committed such sins, was punished severely.”
Between the Soviet Union’s disintegration and the horrific civil war that followed in Tajikistan – a small, impoverished ex-Soviet nation just north of Afghanistan – we’re left to wonder if the mufti somehow blames both of these social implosions on the LGBT community.
Not to be outdone, the grand mufti of Kyrgyzstan, Maksan Hajji Toktomushev, recently issued a fatwa against same-sex relations. Kyrgyzstan – a small, Central Asian nation that’s played a key and continuing role in the Afghan War – is a relatively conservative, Muslim-majority nation. And while it’s far more politically open than its neighbors, a recent Human Rights Watch report highlighted the fact that Kyrgyzstan’s social policies and stigmas remain on par with what we’ve seen stem from Russia.
The multimedia report ran through a series of interviews with forty Kyrgyzstani men, whose country legalized same-sex relations in 1998. The results are, unfortunately, unsurprising, and show the cultural legacy and impact of Kyrgyzstan’s neighbor to the north:
Kyrgyzstan police target gay and bisexual men in parks, gay clubs, hotel rooms, and on dating websites. Human Rights Watch documented cases of severe physical violence against gay and bisexual men including punching, kicking, and beating with gun butts, batons, empty beer bottles, or other objects. Several gay men also reported sexual violence by police officers including rape, group rape, and attempts to put a stick, a hammer, or an electric shock device in the person’s anus, as well as gratuitous touching during a search, or being forced to undress in front of police. …
“Police officers in Kyrgyzstan know that they can beat, rape, and otherwise torment gay men and extort money from them without suffering any consequences,†[Anna Kirey, LGBT rights research at HRW,] said. “Nobody should live in fear because of whom they love. Kyrgyzstan’s authorities need to put a stop to police abuse of gay men.â€
Only two of the men interviewed, according to HRW, have filed complaints with the police. There have been no prosecutions or charges yet brought in any of the cases.
//www.youtube.com/embed/nnKFVh8SQ9E
There is, however, another aspect of the mufti’s timing that makes his comments that much more preposterous. Toktomushev was only the acting grand mufti – his predecessor, Grand Mufti Rakhmatullah-Hajji Egemberdiyev, was forced to resign in mid-January after a video surfaced showing him consorting with an unidentified young woman, according to The Moscow Times. While the video was, in and of itself, a sufficient scandal, matters compounded when it was revealed that the young woman was – surprise! – not Egemberdiyev’s wife. As if the affair weren’t enough, Egemberdiyev is also currently under investigation for tax evasion.
Unfortunately, the affairs of Egemberdiyev and the bigotry of Toktomushev aren’t the only traits sullying the mufiate’s office. The latter is currently the seventh grand mufti in the last four years, with each of his predecessors booted for further corruption or, in one case, being kidnapped and beaten to death. Not the most principled of positions.
Still, Toktomushev’s words are the most prominent we’ve recently seen pertaining to same-sex relations in Kyrgyzstan, which is widely considered the closest thing to a functioning democracy Central Asia knows. However, between this recent fatwa, and the continued practice of “bride-napping” - which is often less prosecuted than livestock theft – it’s clear Kyrgyzstan has a social climb ahead of it.
And it remains obvious that Moscow doesn’t stand as the outlier in the post-Soviet region when it comes to LGBT rights. Rather, much as it does politically, Russia stands as the trend-setter for the bigotry of the former Soviet sphere.
Image via YouTube
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Casey Michel is a graduate student at Columbia University, and former Peace Corps Kazakhstan volunteer. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, and Talking Points Memo, and he has contributed multiple long-form investigations to Minneapolis’s City Pages and the Houston Press. You can follow him on Twitter.
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is promoting President Donald Trump’s sweeping and highly controversial budget legislation by claiming it will guarantee access to the social safety net for the “right” people. He argues that, under the GOP plan, individuals will need to “earn” the right to use Medicaid—suggesting that many current recipients are capable of working but choose not to.
Almost half (47.9%) of Medicaid users under 65 are children aged 0 to 18, according to KFF, the well-known nonpartisan health policy organization. Six in ten families accessing Medicaid have at least one family member who works full time.
In a nationalistic plea, Dr. Oz, on Tuesday, standing with Senate Republicans, told people using the service to “demonstrate that you are trying your hardest to help this country be greater, by at least trying to fill some of the jobs that we have open.”
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America has a near-historically low unemployment rate of 4.2%.
“By doing that, you earn the right to be on Medicaid,” Oz added.
Dr. Oz also praised the Republicans’ legislation that would gut at least $800 billion from Medicaid, saying it is “the most ambitious health reform bill ever” and will “curb the growth of Medicaid.”
During his confirmation hearing, Dr. Oz said, “I think it is our patriotic duty to be healthy.”
Earlier this month, Dr. Oz faced widespread criticism for telling Medicaid users, “Go out there, do the entry-level jobs, get into the workforce. Prove that you matter, get agency into your own life.”
His statements suggest a possible lack of awareness of the statistics and circumstances affecting the very people he was nominated to serve.
On June 5, Dr. Oz told those who are not willing to go back to work, volunteer, or take care of a loved one, that “we are going to ask you to do something else. Go on the exchange, or get a job and get onto regular commercial insurance. But we are not going to continue to pay for Medicaid for those audiences.”
Nearly half of employers—about 46%—do not offer health insurance at all. Most exclude part-time workers from coverage. Gig workers typically receive no health benefits through their jobs. And many seasonal workers struggle to meet the monthly hour thresholds needed to remain eligible for Medicaid.
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Under the current bill, an estimated 10.9 million more people will become uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Once again, critics are blasting Dr. Oz.
“Just want to point out, Dr. Oz has a networth of $200+ million and he is telling a single person who makes a maximum of $21,597 they don’t deserve healthcare,” noted Monique Stanton, President and CEO of Michigan League for Public Policy.
Watch the video below or at this link.
Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz brags about the proposed work requirement for Medicaid in Trump’s budget bill.
“Demonstrate that you are trying your hardest to help this country be greater … By doing that, you earn the right to be on Medicaid.” pic.twitter.com/UrpEAfXh8o
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) June 17, 2025
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Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump’s latest social media posts have many wondering if the United States is entering the war against Iran, and if so, what is his strategy?
At 11:55 AM, Trump posted to Truth Social, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
Minutes later, at 12:19 PM, he added, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
And then, at 12:22 PM, he demanded, “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
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To that last post, political scientist Ian Bremmer responded, “Hard to pull back from this.”
Barbara Starr, the longtime, now former CNN national security reporter, responded to Trump’s posts:
“Sometimes you want ambiguity some officials might say. But when it comes to nukes, clarity is vital to avoid catastrophic miscalculation. So there is no other conclusion…Trump is deep into a Middle East war. Just my opinion of course.”
Pointing to Trump’s social media posts, attorney George Conway, a top Trump critic, wrote: “Remember this moment. @realDonaldTrump is reveling in the narcisisstic [sic] and sadistic thrill of threatening others with violent death. He will start to crave that feeling.”
The Bulwark’s Sam Stein, also pointing to Trump’s posts, observed, “Just tweeting through the launch of another Middle East war. Treating the potential bombing of Iran by the U.S. as an episode of reality TV.”
Former Obama National Security Council staffer Tommy Vietor said of Trump’s posts, “The President of the United States can’t say s— like this and then pretend we are not an active participant in this war.”
Trump convened a meeting with his National Security Council (NSC), slated for 1 PM in the Situation Room. Notably, Vice President JD Vance, who ran defense hours earlier for Trump over the possibility of entering the war, was reportedly not in attendance.
“U.S. officials said Trump is seriously considering joining the war and launching a U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, especially its underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow,” Axios reported.
Former Obama chief campaign strategist and Senior Advisor to the President, David Axelrod, laid out the scene:
“Amazing that in a matter of days we’ve gone from ‘this is not our operation’ to ‘we own the skies over Iran.’ With these proclamations, we also now ‘own’ what WAS an Israeli assault. We’re thoroughly in it now. What is the strategy here?”
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CNN reports that “President Donald Trump is growing increasingly warm to using US military assets to strike Iranian nuclear facilities and souring on the idea of a diplomatic solution to end Tehran’s escalating conflict with Israel, two officials familiar with the ongoing discussions told CNN.”
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren noted that Congress, not the President, has the authority to declare war:
“Allowing Netanyahu to drag us into another endless war in the Middle East would be a catastrophic error by President Trump and Republicans in Congress. Every lawmaker needs to ring the alarm against U.S. military action in Iran. Only Congress has the authority to declare war.”
Many, including BBC Verify senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh, are pointing to Trump’s use of the word “we” in his posts. Military.com’s Pentagon reporter Konstantin Toropin suggested it would be difficult to not see the U.S. as involved.
“President Trump is using the term ‘we’ when referring to Israeli attacks on Iran, including a potential strike on the supreme leader, and calling for ‘unconditional surrender,” Sardarizadeh wrote.
“…and yet the US is not a participant in this conflict?” posited Toropin.
Pointing to polling that shows 60% of Americans oppose U.S. military becoming involved in the Israel-Iran war, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote: “If Trump is serious about bombing Iran, he’d be wise to declassify intelligence showing that the threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is imminent. The American people are not just going to take him at his word. Been there; done that (in 2003).”
Former Clinton Cabinet Secretary Robert Reich noted, “For Trump, a military conflict with Iran would distract from:
-Sinking poll numbers
-A devastating (and unpopular) budget bill
-Harmful trade wars
-Unleashing the military on American soil
-Millions of people protesting his authoritarianism
We must remain on high alert.”
U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) wrote: “Having seen some of the worst fighting of the Iraq War, I know the devastating toll of rushing into a conflict. I came back from Iraq angry at our government for sending us out to an illegal war. We must learn from our mistakes: no president should unilaterally deploy troops to the Middle East. Congress, not the President, has the sole power to declare war.
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A former viewer of Jake Tapper’s CNN program, expressing deep disappointment, publicly criticized the veteran journalist for publishing a book that portrays President Joe Biden in an unflattering light and alleges cognitive decline. The viewer argued that Tapper should instead be scrutinizing what she described as the “erratic” behavior of President Donald Trump. Tapper defended his stance, attributing Trump’s behavior more to “personality” traits than to “cognitive decline.”
On a C-SPAN call-in show (video below), the viewer, identified by the name “Sarah,” told Tapper, “right now, I really don’t like you.”
She accused Tapper of doing a “disservice” to President Biden, “and also to the American people.”
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“When are you going to examine, you know, what is going on with Trump?” she asked.
“Joe Biden conducted himself for four years, taking care of the United States. He took meetings, he went overseas, he negotiated with other leaders.”
But President Trump, Sarah said, “has been pure chaos, which indicates to me that there is something wrong with him.”
“We will never get a straight answer on his medical examination. What medication he is on,” she charged.
She also accused Tapper of going after President Biden “with a vengeance,” and expressed that she is “very disappointed” in the reporter.
“I enjoyed watching your show, but not anymore,” she added.
The caller urged Tapper to write another book, focused on President Trump, “and how erratic and what he is doing—calling out the National Guard, the Marines and everybody. When has a President ever done that? It is pure erratic.”
Tapper, who sat through the 75-seconds of criticism largely stone-faced, responded by saying that on CNN he does cover President Donald Trump “every day for two hours, every day from 5 to 7 Eastern.”
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He insisted that they “cover all the things you talk about, in terms of the president, the current president’s behavior. We have covered times that he has confused Nancy Pelosi with Nikki Haley.”
But Tapper appeared to disagree with Sarah’s perception that “there is something wrong” with President Trump. Despite his age (79) and reported lifestyle, Tapper insisted, “I think some of the questions about President Trump’s behavior have more to do with personality than with cognitive decline.”
“But obviously,” he continued, “whatever lessons we’ve learned from covering President Biden, we would apply to any politician, any future politician or present politician.”
So I’m sorry, if I’m disappointing you by covering President Biden, but journalists, we are supposed to cover stories that we think the American people have a right to know, that we think will enhance their understanding of how the country’s run, and I think Alex and I are proud of this book.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
C-SPAN caller to Jake Tapper: “Right now I really don’t like you … When are you going to examine what’s going on with Trump? … this president has been pure chaos, which indicates to me that there is something wrong with him. We will never get a straight answer on his medical… pic.twitter.com/juTOEOOL6z
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 17, 2025
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