Abuse of LGBT Rights and Government Legitimacy in Russia

Abstract

Rights for LGBT people are a recent arrival in the international political sphere. While some countries in Europe and the Western Hemisphere have gaurnteed rights for LGBT people, many African and Asian countries have not gaurnteed these same rights. In Russia, an ingenuine push for democracy has resulted in an authoritarian state under the guise of democracy. Political legitimacy looms as a pressing issue for Vladimir Putin, and LGBT rights are one of the casualties in this quest to have his government be seen as just. Close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian public opinion of LGBT people, and well as persistent anti-Western rhetoric, force Putin to oppose rights for LGBT people. This paper explores the link between these factors, LGBT rights, and government legitimacy, and argues that Putin must oppose the rights of LGBT people in order to maintain legitimacy as the President of Russia.