Russian Neo-Nazis Using Social Media To Find And Torture LGBT Teens

To add depth to the portrait of just how horrific Russia is these days for LGBT people, for journalists, for women and for political protesters, we now have a report that Neo-Nazis are using the Russian social media site VK.com to lure LGBT teens into being tortured and outed to their communities:

President Putin’s crusade against LGBT community in Russia took a new turn.

Infamous Russian ultranationalist and former skin head, Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver” (or “Tesak” in Russian) spearheaded a country wide campaign against LGBT teens using a popular social network VK.com to lure unsuspected victims through personal ads. Mr. Martsinkevich’s numerous and enthusiastic followers started two projects: “Occupy Pedophilyaj” and “Occupy Gerontilyaj”. Allegedly they are trying to identify and report pedophiles using these “movements”. In reality, over 500 online groups have been created inside VK.com social network in order to organize illegal militant groups in every Russian city. Oddly enough their idea of fighting pedophiles targets exclusively male teenagers who respond to the same-sex personal ads and show up for a date. Captured victims are bullied and often tortured while being recorded on video. These self-proclaimed “crime fighters” perform their actions under the broad day light, often outside and clearly visible to general public that indifferently passes by or even commend them. Video recordings of bullying and tortures are freely distributed on the Internet in order to out LGBT teens to their respective schools, parents and friends. Many victims were driven to suicides, the rest are deeply traumatized.

Putin’s government, of course, has taken no action against these groups. This is the world that Vladimir Putin is creating, a nation that a close friend of mine, who has lived and studied in Russia, now refers to as a “thug petro-state.” We can also thank American extremist Evangelicals like Scott Lively for helping to plant the seeds.