Bulat Barantayev is calling for the impeachment of Russian President Vladimir Putin and for all corrupt officials to be tried and imprisoned. But that’s not why he has no chance of winning a legislative mandate in Russia’s September 28 Duma elections. Barantayev, by his own admission, won’t be representing Novosibirsk from the liberal Parnas coalition because he is one of the first openly gay men to run for the Duma in modern Russian history. “For a long time now, I have used all opportunities to cultivate an audience for accepting LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] people,” Barantayev told RFE/RL when asked why he was running in a race he is certain he can’t win. “By my example, I show that gays in Russia can create their own successful businesses, can meet with people, can have children, and can even run for the State Duma.”
Aleksei Korolyov is another openly gay man on the Parnas ticket in the southern city of Krasnodar. He is also realistic about his chances but confident his candidacy is a step forward for Russia.
“The LGBT community now is in a desperate situation,” he told RFE/RL, “and we need allies. It is good that we have been able to form an alliance with Parnas. The LGBT community gets new resources to defend itself and the party should get some new voters…. I decided to run because the ruling party has adopted an extreme homophobic position. The authorities are facilitating a homophobic discourse in society that is inciting hate crimes.”
Full Article: Openly Gay Candidates Push Back In Russia’s Duma Elections.