Homophobic Kazakhstan Loses Olympics Bid—Is Beijing Much Better?
After dealing with anti-gay concerns at last year’s Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, many people had an issue with the fact that homophobic Kazakhstan could have won the hosting duties for the 2022 Winter Games.
Although homosexuality has been legal in Kazakhstan since 1998, LGBT people in the country are still forced to live in fear and face constant discrimination and hostility.
The concerns caused Kazakhstan to lose its bid to host the Olympics, with the honor instead being awarded to Beijing, China.
But will the Chinese capital be any better?
As it turns out, many gay Russians have fled to Beijing in recent years in order to live more freely.
That's magazine reports that there is a "small but growing community of openly gay Russians in Beijing. Estimates from those we speak to put the figure between 200 to 500. In China’s capital [an LGBT Russian] can be frank about his sexuality in ways that might result in violent attacks at home."