"We all know things are bad for LGBT people in Russia, right?
"In fact, we have no idea. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, Tatiana Vinnichenko, director of the Russian LGBT organization Rakurs, revealed how much most of us in the West don't know about Russia's anti-gay crackdown. And all of it is bad news.
"First, official state prosecutions and persecution of LGBT organizations has morphed and intensified. Previously, LGBT organizations were pressured to register as 'foreign agents'-spies, basically-but those registrations were subject to judicial review. The results were uneven: Some courts rubber-stamped the government's positions, but others found a lack of evidence and ruled for the LGBT organizations.
"Earlier this year, says Vinnichenko, the law was quietly changed. Now the government has the power to declare an organization a foreign agent as an administrative matter. In other words, what was once a matter of law, however imperfect, is now a matter of bureaucracy. With one fell swoop-and one that can come at any moment, without warning-a gay community center, or film festival, or support group can be branded a spy.
"The St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization Coming Out has been immersed in Russia's Kafkaesque bureaucracy for months, having endured four hearings to ascertain whether it is a foreign agent. But it has endured, thanks to the rule of law. Without that protection, Coming Out would have no recourse. And once one is labeled a foreign agent, even routine administrative errors can result in criminal prosecution.
"'We are being boiled in a pot,' Vinnichenko said.
"The foreign agents law and the 'anti-propaganda law' are really just the tip of the anti-gay iceberg, however. The newest phase of Putin's campaign has been, ironically, privatization.
"According to Vinnichenko, Russian authorities are putting pressure on all kinds of institutions-banks, landlords, employers-not to do business with LGBT people and LGBT organizations. Because licenses are required for just about everything in Russia, this 'pressure' is existential. Banks are being told, 'Dump your LGBT customers, or we'll shut you down,' she said...
"This subcontracted homophobia has largely escaped the notice of the Western media so far. It is off the books, so to speak, propelled by threats and extortion rather than overt acts like legislation or prosecution. And it has plausible deniability. 'Putin is asked about LGBT people whenever he goes abroad, and he just lies or says he doesn't know,' said Vinnichenko. 'But he knows the situation-he's the homophobe in chief.'"