Putin as Gay Icon

It is now illegal in Russia to share an image of Putin as a possibly gay clown, like the one above. Such images originally were part of a form of protest using satire to mock Putin's homophobic policies in the 2010's. It began back in July of 2006, in an inflammatory article by Alexander Litvinenko, which appeared on an anti-Kremlin website linked to the breakaway region of Chechnya, in which he accused Putin of having had sex with underage boys.

Oh please. This is a smear campaign directed at Putin. It's how Russian politics works.

True, but give Putin credit for his masterful use of the media. No wonder TIME made him Man of the Year.

Photos of a bare-chested Putin like the one below were published in the official Russian press in August of 2006 under the headline "Be Like Putin." It received a lot of attention, especially in the gay press, drawing comparisons with Brokeback Mountain. There's so many cross-cultural misunderstandings here, where do you begin?