Tatyana Firova (l) and Kseniya Ryzhov (r) kiss on the podium. A Russian athlete has reacted angrily to suggestions that she was making a statement against her country's anti-gay laws when she and and a fellow athlete kissed on the podium at the Moscow World Athletics Championships. Kseniya Ryzhova says she is insulted at speculation in some Western media that them kiss was a pro-gay statement. "Instead of congratulating the athletes, they (the press) decided to insult not only Yulia but the whole [Russian] athletics federation. First of all, both Yulia and I are married," she said to applause from Russian journalists at a news conference. It is not unusual for close women friends in Russia to kiss each other on the lips. The anti-gay laws criminalise any positive reference to homosexuality anywhere it may be seen by anyone under the age of eighteen. Although Russia has come under fire from many nations and the UN over the law polls reportedly show the majority of Russian support it. Levels of brutal violence against glbti Russians, often with the complicity of the police and other officials, have begun to soar since Russian PM Vladimir Putin signed the law into being.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News
First published: Wednesday, 21st August 2013 - 10:49am