Russian Lawmaker Accuses Architect Of Putin’s Anti-Gay Law Of Promoting Terrorism

A fellow lawmaker is accusing Vitaly Milonov of promoting terrorism and illegal firearms possession. He is urging him to undergo a mental health examination.

Vitaly Milonov is the hyperbolic, outspoken, radically religious Russian lawmaker who instituted a severe anti-gay law in his hometown of St. Petersburg. Vladimir Putin shortly thereafter expanded his legislation to all of Russia. The expansive law technically prohibits the promotion of homosexuality to children, but in practice it has been used to arrest people holding signs in public and could even be used to prosecute Russians or visitors to Russia for wearing a rainbow tee shirt, or even posting an image to social media of two men or two women holding hands. In June, Milonov’s local St. Petersburg law was repealed, but Putin’s anti-gay law still pervades all of Russia.

Now, a fellow lawmaker is accusing Milonov of promoting terrorism, illegal firearms possession, and is demanding the St. Petersburg Senator undergo a mental health examination.

Milonov “appears to have committed a handful of crimes during his time in public office, Federation Council member Konstantin Dobrynin wrote Thursday on his LiveJournal account,” Russia’s St. Petersburg Times reports. 

Milonov, who is also a church sexton, has been photographed wearing a T-shirt that read “Orthodoxy or Death” — a slogan banned in Russia as extremist. He was also pictured with knives and firearms during “humanitarian missions” to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, Dobrynin wrote.

Additionally, the flamboyant lawmaker has denounced various nationalities, including Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, whom he described as “crazy goats,” “pigs” and “fascist Turkish mugs,” Dobrynin said.

All of this qualifies Milonov for a total of 11 criminal charges, including promoting terrorism and illegal firearms possession, the senator said. The charges carry a combined sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Last year, Milonov announced that gay people “rape kids,” and insisted there is no violence against gay people, but “much violence” by gay people against straight people.

And last month, barely hours after news broke in the U.S. that Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly announced he is gay, Milonov said that Cook should be banned from Russia. Claiming gay people in America all have “unseemly ties,” Milanov asked, “What could he bring us? The Ebola virus, AIDS, gonorrhea?”

For now, possibly for the first time ever, Milonov says he will “maintain a polite silence” rather than comment on Dobrynin’s charges.

 

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