Crimea gay

Rights groups have called it an effort to silence gays, already facing violence in their communities. Asked about the referendum, the men said they voted differently. Crimean LGBT Community in Transition. Someone hit him in the back of the head, and he crumbled to the ground.

They tell most people they are brothers, though the neighbors have figured it out, the men say. But the worst part wasn't the pain — it was the humiliation. Now it's absolutely unbearable. Some have left Crimea, while others are adjusting to the harsh new. The house runs off electric, but Rudyuk, who is handy and has a wiry build, said he installed the stove to save on utility costs.

Afanasyev, Rudyuk's 29 year -old partner, stood over a hot pot by the front door of their apartment, making tea. In interviews one day after the Crimea referendum, gay citizens here in the Crimean capital said they were anxious about the transition to Russian rule.

He voted to remain a part of Ukraine. Their marriage is largely a secret, and it's not legally recognized. Russia established an atmosphere of fear and hatred on the peninsula, which prevents lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer plus people (LGBTIQ+) from fully exercising their rights and forces them to leave their homes and move to mainland Ukraine or abroad.

But like many in Crimea, where there are deep historical ties to Russia, they also said they feel culturally Russian. Around fifteen people swarmed him afterward, he recalled. Twenty-nine years old, he works for a cultural exchange organization he says is financed by the U.

He lives with his mother, and hasn't told her he is gay. Rudyuk's partner, Afanasyev, said he is worried that Crimea will become alienated from the international community. Since that night, the year-old hair stylist has kept a low profile in this city, where he shares a small duplex apartment with his partner, Pavel Afanasyev, a doctor.

With Russia annexing Crimea earlier this year, life has changed in unwelcome ways for nearly everyone in the LGBT community. In February, Human Rights Watch released a video documenting attacks on gays by roving street gangs. He described the Kiev activists who weeks ago toppled Ukraine's pro-Moscow government as "fascists," echoing a Kremlin message.

Inside his suburban Simferopol home one night after the vote, Rudyuk fed kindling into a wood burning stove. They punched him in the face. Days after a controversial vote that set Crimea on course to become part of Russia, the already quiet gay community here is preparing to be absorbed into a country where homosexuality has come under increasing pressure.

But, as a gay man living in Crimea, the provincial and conservative slip of land beneath mainland Ukraine, Rudyuk has come to expect abuse. For some, the referendum has stirred complicated feelings, tugging their national and personal identities in opposite directions.

Rudyuk, who suffered the beating only two years ago, said he voted pro-Russia. I didn't do anything to deserve it. The couple met on the internet in and were unofficially married in Ukraine three years later, during a ceremony overseen by a Canadian minister. Crimea’s Gay Community Moves Out as Russian Homophobia Sets In 7 minute read Yegor watches as Bogdan teaches Timur to swim at their home in Sevastopol.

During an interview in a Simferopol cafe Monday, Kornilov said his mother voted for Russia in Sunday's referendum. Last summer, the Russian government passed a measure banning so-called gay propaganda. Смотреть онлайн видео Владик Шибанов от Vimas Anin на Яндексе.

Fortunately, no one in their suburban cluster of homes has complained. A grey cat named Simon pushed an empty dish along the floor at Afanayev's feet. At an anti-referendum rally in Simferopol one day before the vote, a man said he planned to move to Turkey as soon as he could save the money.

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has said the law is meant to protect children.