Cossacks will police the World Cup to stop gay fans kissing
The Russian vigilantes will warn officers if they see two men kissing
By Steve Brown
Russian Cossacks will police the World Cup this month to stop gay fans kissing.
More than 300 of the parliamentary guards – who are seen as the defenders of traditional Russian values – will patrol the city of Rostov on the Don, according to local media.
Although they are leaving their trademark whips behind, they said they will be ready to support real police if trouble breaks out and they suggested the trouble could include legal same-sex physical affection.
Being gay is legal in Russia but a recent law prohibits anyone or anything promoting homosexuality.
Oleg Barannikov, a coordinator of Cossack volunteer guards, said: “If two men kiss at the World Cup we will ask the police to pay attention to them, and what happens next is up to the police.
“For us values above all mean Orthodox Christianity and family. We Cossacks have gone through too much for those values to be just thrown away.”
They went on to tell local journalists that they would be tolerant of LGBT fans and they couldn’t act against public displays of kissing.
LGBT football fans travelling to the 2018 FIFA World Cup next month have reportedly been targeted with death threats.
Pride in Football, the alliance of LGBT Fan Groups, said it had recieved several direct threats ahead of the competition, which kicks off on June 14 and lasts for four weeks.
The reports come just a week after the Football Supporters’ Federation, together with the Football Association (FA), and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, warned LGBT football fans travelling to Russia not to “publicly display” their sexuality.
Violence and discrimination against LGBT people remains commonplace in Russia, where laws banning the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality to minors were signed into law in by President Vladimir Putin in 2013, leading to an ongoing crackdown on gay rights protestors.