Soooo . . . members of the Communists of Russia party are warning Elton John that he “should abandon his flamboyant stage costumes and opt for a more traditional Cossack wardrobe” — knee-length kaftan, knee-high leather boots, and a fur hat — when he performs in a gig there next month, the Toronto Sun (quoted here) and others are reporting.
According to the Toronto Sun article, local party leader Mikhail Abramyan said Elton’s “usual outfits are “homosexual propaganda” that could breach local laws where promoting homosexuality is a criminal offence.”
Sigh . . . Where do I begin with this . . . Let’s see now: when similar homophobes warned Madonna about speaking up for gay rights in Russia, she went ahead and did it anyway. Cause rockers like to rebel and thumb their noses at the system, ya know. Especially pathetic systems that oppress people and commit all sorts of human rights violations. So, is the Communists of Russia party so naive as to think Elton will toe the Cossack line, or are they just trying to turn this into an anti-gay propaganda event of their own?
One has to wonder, though, why Elton — who I don’t think wears flamboyant costumes at concerts anymore –would want to put with their nonsense and perform in Russia now. Maybe he’ll tell them to take a hike up the yellow brick road . . . or maybe he’ll dress in the most outrageously flamboyant costume he can find.
If the homophobes in Russia are so afraid of Western performers, why invite them there in the first place? I mean, Russian has plenty of its own international rock stars, yes? Such as . . . umm . . . er . . . hmm . . .
Jillian
OMG… so sad… and nope.. Elton does not dress like that anymore… and they really should feel honoured to have such a great talent, whose body of work has passed the test of time, come & perform for them…cuz he sure doesn’t have to anymore. I saw him in concert 3 times.. once in London performing for royalty.. AWESOME..
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It’s Russia… and even the Russians here… I’ve faced transphobic and homophobic remarks from the ones here now in Montreal, and in my neighbourhood (Cote Des Neiges) there are more than a few. Here it is mostly the former Eastern Bloc immigrants that say stuff to me, very little from any other, in fact hardly any.
It was so indoctrinated into the former USSR and Eastern Bloc countries that it is gonna take decades to fix. Maybe time for the western world to say “ok, enough. Nothing happening for you until you fix things” but there is sadly no one with the guts to say that to them.
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Check out Kino ( Кино – Виктор Цой – Кукушка [Kino-Zoy-Kukushka] . ). I used to listen to this band all of the time when I lived in USSR 🙂
Just sayin.
Kaye
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