Russian political journalist Anton Krasovsky announced that he is gay on live television and was promptly fired from his job.
Krasovsky, 37, came out gay on January 25, telling a late-night TV show audience that he is gay and "as human as President [Vladimir] Putin, Prime Minister [Dmitry] Medvedev" and members of parliament.
His coming out coincided with passage of a controversial bill in parliament that prohibits the public promotion of "gay propaganda" to minors in Russia, effectively outlawing everything from Gay Pride parades to wearing a rainbow pin in support of gay rights in public.
The former editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-backed Kontr TV told CNN that he came out on TV "because somebody should do it."
"I decided that it's time to be open. And it's time to be open for me," Krasovsky said from Lisbon, Portugal. "I was fired that night."
"I think it's not easy time in Russia," he said.
Krasovsky compared Russia's law to Britain's Section 28 law, which prohibited a local authority from "promoting homosexuality." It remained on the books until 2003, 15 years after its approval.
"Because anti-gay law is a total copy of the Britain anti-gay propaganda law. ... I'm not sure Putin regime is fascist."
Krasovsky, 37, came out gay on January 25, telling a late-night TV show audience that he is gay and "as human as President [Vladimir] Putin, Prime Minister [Dmitry] Medvedev" and members of parliament.
His coming out coincided with passage of a controversial bill in parliament that prohibits the public promotion of "gay propaganda" to minors in Russia, effectively outlawing everything from Gay Pride parades to wearing a rainbow pin in support of gay rights in public.
The former editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-backed Kontr TV told CNN that he came out on TV "because somebody should do it."
"I decided that it's time to be open. And it's time to be open for me," Krasovsky said from Lisbon, Portugal. "I was fired that night."
"I think it's not easy time in Russia," he said.
Krasovsky compared Russia's law to Britain's Section 28 law, which prohibited a local authority from "promoting homosexuality." It remained on the books until 2003, 15 years after its approval.
"Because anti-gay law is a total copy of the Britain anti-gay propaganda law. ... I'm not sure Putin regime is fascist."
Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine
