Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday mocked the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for flying a rainbow flag in celebration of LGBTQ rights, suggesting it “revealed something about the people that work there,” referencing their sexual orientation.
Putin’s statement follows Russia’s nationwide vote for constitutional reforms enshrining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, according to Reuters.
“It’s no big deal though. We have spoken about this many times, and our position is clear,” said Putin, who has centered the county’s values in alignment with the Russian Orthodox Church as opposed to the more liberal Western values of the U.S.
“Yes, we passed a law banning the propaganda of homosexuality among minors. So what? Let people grow up, become adults and then decide their own destinies,” he said.
Since the passing of the legislation, authorities have used it as a means to stop gay pride marches and detain LGBTQ activists as violators of the law.
Putin defended the legislation, saying he would not let traditional mother and father parenthood to become subverted by ideas he called “parent number 1” and “parent number 2.”
Ekaterina Lakhova, head of the Women’s Union of Russia, told Putin on Friday that she feared brands, such as an ice cream company with a flavor called “rainbow” and any other forms of multicolored advertising, could be defined as propaganda and could encourage nontraditional values, according to the RIA news agency.
“Even indirectly, such things make our children accustomed to that … flag, the one that was hung up by the embassy,” Lakhova was quoted as saying, adding, “It would be very good to have a commission to make sure that those values that we enshrined in our constitution are upheld.”
The British Embassy in Moscow has also been seen flying a rainbow flag.