PROHIBITED: Extremist Content

Despite Russia being called a “democracy,” freedom of expression is not something its people enjoy under President Putin’s regime.  Satire, political humor, and outrageous caricature are deemed “extreme” and prohibited by law.  Russia’s Ministry of Justice has just added its 4,071st item to the list of “banned” extremist material under the country’s “anti-extremism powers.”  According to PinkNews.com,

“The much-distributed picture has circulated widely on the internet and at LGBT rights protests, seeking to resist the country’s ‘gay propaganda’ law by lampooning Putin’s macho image.

According to the Moscow Times, the decision to ban the image reflects a May 2016 court ruling, when a man was charged with “hate speech” offences after posting the picture of Putin in makeup on Russian social network Vkontakte.

Homophobia has surged in Russia since the passage of 2013’s so-called ‘gay propaganda’ law, which has been exploited by anti-LGBT forces in law enforcement and government in order to clamp down on the LGBT community.”

Read the full article via PINKNews.com

You tell us, who wears it better?

(Main photo credit: Denis Doyle/Getty Images)