WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), has sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a T-shirt that reads “Love Conquers Hate” in Russian. HRC’s gift was sent in recognition of Putin’s comment, “The meaning of our whole life and existence is love.”
“Putin made clear that love is at the core of every single person,” said Rebecca Parks, associate director of HRC Global. “The message of this gift is that all love is equal.”
Putin’s statement comes over a year after the passage of Russia’s draconian anti-LGBT “propaganda” law. This law––and the homophobic and transphobic cultural debate that swirled around it––has fueled an appalling backlash against members of Russia’s LGBT community, as explained in HRC’s report Russia: Year in Review.
HRC hopes that this T-shirt will remind Putin that love has the tremendous power to overcome all obstacles, even those imposed by the Kremlin.
HRC’s “Love Conquers Hate” campaign was launched in 2013 to raise awareness about the Russian government’s heinous law that forbids even modest public support for LGBT equality. The effort has been bolstered by participation from a diverse group of prominent celebrities, athletes and politicians.
