At the end of March in the Bundestag building in Berlin, a session of PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human rights took place, which was devoted to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Igor Kon, an academician, presented a separate speech. He informed the participants about the current situation with the LGBT population rights in Russia.

A prominent scholar pointed out that in the country "under the pretence of defending the moral and family values, the political homophobia is trying to take homosexual love back to its medieval status of "unmentionable sin", as well as turn its supporters into scapegoats for all social problems and make such supporters invisible and inaudible". According to the scholar, "such logic exists elsewhere and not only in Russia, however, it’s doubtful it is consonant with the 21st century". "... If the world lived by it, we would not have interracial or interfaith marriages, women politicians or black presidents...", he noted.

Igor Kon called "liberation from homophobia" a "complex social-educational issue". The scholar noted "certain positive experience" of European countries in this field. The complete speech of Igor Kon is available on his website.

Translated by Alexander Lipovtsev