Hunted: Open Season For Russia-Bashing

The Channel 4 documentary “Hunted” has been specially timed to coincide with the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and smacks of well-timed and cynical propaganda.

The documentary’s emotional appeal is misleading, since the film falls far short of the standards of professional journalistic investigation. Full of distorted facts and unverifiable allegations (like that the Russian state supports violence against gays and that homosexuals have no right to speak out for themselves), it intentionally stokes a well-engineered campaign of slander. One could have easily whipped up such “documentary” about a hunting season on redheads in the UK saying that “ginger” people face unmotivated verbal and physical abuse on a daily basis.

If the authors of the documentary really had evidence of rampant “gay hate crimes” in Russia, they wouldn’t need to wait until an international sporting event takes place in Russia to raise the alarm. While violent attacks on homosexuals sometimes take place in Russia, just like in many other European countries, this does not mean that they are condoned, supported or, let alone, encouraged by the Government. Such attacks are few and far between and by no means reflect general sentiments of the Russian people.

The rights of gay and straight people are equally protected by Russian law and the police, while the Russian Government has zero tolerance for any bullying and violence. Russian law does not use the term “gay hate crime” because all people must be equally protected irrespective of their sexual orientation, gender, social status, race or ethnicity.

Maxim Martsinkevich, ex-leader of the illegal vigilante group Occupy Pedophilia (“Okkypay-Pedofilyay”), which, as its name suggests, targets only pedophiles (both straight and gay), has been arrested and is now in custody on charges for extremism.

All reports of verbal and physical assault are treated seriously by the police, be it from homosexual or heterosexual people. However, a Youtube video cannot serve as a legal basis for institution of a criminal case. Even if you have been shown some explicit videos of violence and public humiliation, there is no proof that the attacked people were gay. The only way to initiate a criminal case against one’s offenders is to report it to the police or the Prosecutor’s Office.

There are, fortunately, media that take a balanced view of the situation, including Britain’s own experience of legislation on similar issue, i.e. Section 28. We’d like to refer the authors of this documentary, which meets the criteria of hate propaganda, to recent articles in the Guardian, the Sun and other newspapers. Maybe, enough is enough and exercise in ill will towards Russia could stop now that the Winter Olympics in Sochi have begun?

Statement from the Russian Embassy in London on Channel 4's documentary Hunted.

This was picked up and misrepresented by everyone from the anti-gay Daily Telegraph to the patronising idiots at The Independent.

All wilfully ignored its main points; that - despite what was claimed in Hunted - the Russian state does strongly condemn anti-gay violence and they prosecute those who carry these attacks out.

Some quite reasonable points are raised here - if you actually read what it says.

But of course all this is now pretty much unsayable, unthinkable as its open season for Russia-bashing.

Most sneered at - and tellingly foregrounded - his comments about discrimination against ginger people.

He wasn't saying the problems were the same, just that this exists and could also be exaggerated to buggery.

From today's Daily  Mail.

Someone at Pink News went into predictable WORSE THAN HITLER! mode; Russian embassy says anti-gay attacks are no more severe than the UK’s ‘abuse’ of ginger people.

Err, no they didn't.

The self-righteously ired readers' comments are classic; "The whole civilised world is watching you!"

"I hope Russia gets infected by some pandemic disease and they subsequently all die" etc etc.

The gay moral high ground, there.