The publicity conscious singer is already kicking up controversies before her Russian tour scheduled in August, only a few months after the launching of her private gym “Hard Candy” in Moscow.
Madonna posted on her Facebook page, “I will come to St Petersburg to speak up for the gay community, to support the gay community.”
Anti-gay prejudice in Russia is extremely strong as up to 1993 homosexuality in Russia was punished with jail terms. Most of the homosexual community still remains underground and is afraid to come out in the open for fears of persecution.
The new legislation penalizing homosexual propaganda was made law this month, March, 2012, by Putin ally Georgy Poltavchenko. A fine of $17,000 can be fined for homosexual propaganda that could “damage the health, moral and spiritual development of the underaged.” In Russia, underage means below the age of 18.
In response to the legislation, gay rights activists in Moscow and St Petersburg have scheduled two “Slavic gay parades” to be held during Madonna’s Russia tour. The information has been posted on GayRussia.eu.
In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights had fined Russia for banning gay parades in Moscow.
Last time Madonna created controversies in Russia was in 2006 when she sang “Live to Tell” on a crucifix wearing a crown of thorns. The display drew strong protests and reactions from adherents of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The ultra-Orthodox believers hold that homosexuality should either be punished by criminalization or homosexuals should be treated in hospitals for “illness.”
The new legislation in St Petersburg has created concerns among Russian gay community that it would be used to persecute public displays of homosexuality including gay parades.