Gay Russian assault victim issues powerful response to his homophobic attackers
The Russian man was brutally attacked outside a grocery store for looking like a āfagā.
Ivan Kravistin from the city of Syzran ā around 600 miles east of Moscow ā was attacked after visiting his local supermarket earlier this week.
Kravistin described how large muscled man blocked his exit ā before asking him whether he painted his nails and dyed his hair because he was a āfagā.
The man then began to repeatedly punched Kravistin in the eye, face and body ā leaving him bloody mess as he was attacked.
One bystander tried to intervene, telling the homophobic attacker that while he, too, did not like gay people, he did not believe in beating them up.
Police were called and the man was arrested for a āhooliganismā charge.
Following the attack, he says he has been told by friends and family to change the colour of his hair and ātone downā his style.
However, the LGBT rights activist says he refuses to be intimidated by homophobes or bigots and refuses to accept Russian societyās treatment of the gay community.
āAccording to some, I need to stop talking about gay rights and to accept the reality that in Syzran and Russia that all gays will never be accepted as the norm,ā he wrote on his VK page.
āLive as yourself behind closed doors with a boyfriend, and everything will be alright. If I wasnāt āsearching for troubleā, my life would be a fairy tale.
āThat āhappily ever afterā is a lie. If you submit to homophobes, if you submit to the closet, youāre not living your best possible life.
āWhile I might have a broken face, you have a broken life,ā he adds.
āIf my choice is between living my life then dying suddenly or a slow, painful, closeted life ā I choose the first. Say whatever you think about homosexuality, I do not deserve this. No one deserves this.ā
āIām not going to let this force me back into the closet, this is the reason why I came out in the first place: people need to know we exist.ā
