Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister, suggested the government could have waited until after the Sochi Olympics to pass its gay “propaganda” law.
“Perhaps the state authorities should have waited a little to include the ban on homosexuality propaganda in the law,” Mutko told the RBK newspaper, according to R-Sport. “It was possible to calculate how much resonance it would cause in the West, especially in the run-up to the Sochi Olympics.”
The law banning the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations toward minors in Russia was passed in June.
“The West’s reaction to the law is part of the relationship to our country,” Mutko said, according to R-Sport. “Russia’s gaining momentum in all areas, including in sport. No one in the world needs that. They liked it when we were weak.”
Photo: Russian police spots Olympian skeleton workout in Sochi