Russia & ECHR

From the DW:

“Russia slams European court's 'meddling' over same-sex relationships”

Europe's top human rights court had called on Russia to establish a legal framework for same sex partnerships. Russia said the verdict contradicted its laws and morality. Russia on Wednesday deemed a call by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) as foreign "meddling" in the country's domestic affairs. A day earlier, the court ruled that Russia should respect and acknowledge same-sex couples by providing a legal framework for their relationships.

What did Russia say? The ruling "contradicts the foundations of Russian rule of law and morality," Vasily Piskarev, a lawmaker who heads a parliamentary commission dedicated to investigating foreign interference, was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA. "This is clear systemic meddling in Russia's internal affairs," Piskarev said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had also said that the court's request would contradict Russia's constitution. Last year, Russia adopted a set of constitutional amendments that emphasized the primacy of Russian law over international norms. It also stipulated that "institution of marriage is a union between a man and a woman."  "The wording in the constitution is absolutely unambiguous and there is an unambiguous number of Russian citizens who support this unambiguous position," Peskov said.

What did the ECHR rule? The case was brought forward to the ECHR by three Russian same-sex couples after their attempts to reigster their relationships were unsuccessful. The court ruled that Russia violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which outlines a right to respect for private and family life. Russia had "an obligation to ensure respect for the applicants' private and family life by providing a legal framework allowing them to have their relationships acknowledged,'' the court said.   The ECHR did not specify that Russia must legalize same-sex marriage. It rather urged Russia to recognize and protect the couples' relationships. It said it was ultimately up to Russia to find the most appropriate way to achieve this.  The judges also rejected Russia's argument about lacking public acceptance of same-sex relationships, saying, "Access to rights for a minority could not be dependent on the acceptance of the majority." Homosexuality is not outlawed in Russia, but LGBTQ activists have repeatedly reported being subject to discrimination and violence.

^ Homosexuality does NOT go against what it means to be Russian. The Russians tend to need scapegoats for why their lives have always been a hard struggle. In Czarist times the scapegoats were the Jews. In Soviet times the scapegoats were the Jews and anti-Communists. In Putin’s Russia it is the Jews and Homosexuals. The ordinary Russian doesn’t want to accept the truth that the reason their life is so difficult is because of the restrictive Dictatorship of their Government and not due to any single group of people. The Politicians and Dictators that ruled and are ruling Russia are the reason. Once the Russians admit that truth to themselves then they will stop attacking and blaming the Jews and Homosexuals. I don’t see that happening anytime soon though – since this has been going on for Centuries and is only being fueled more and more today. I also don’t see Putin or the Russian Government doing anything to stop their attacks on Homosexuals after this ruling because then the ordinary Russians would start to see the real reasons for their troubles (Russia’s invasion and occupation of Crimea, Russia’s War in Donbas, Russia’s War in Syria, Russia’s Occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia’s Program of Poisoning Opponents both inside Russia and around the world, Russia’s Program of Cyber Attacks and Ransomware, Russia’s Program of Meddling in other countries’ elections and Russia’s Program to destabilize countries in general. ^

https://www.dw.com/en/russia-slams-european-courts-meddling-over-same-sex-relationships/a-58263885