Don't know if you also saw in the NY Times this weekend the article on
"corrective rape", the rape (and often murder) of lesbians to turn them straight. Often arranged by their parents and/or clergy. This despite the fact that laws in South Africa are quite progressive; the Constitution bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and they were the fifth country to pass marriage equality.
It wasn't just "some Americans" that backed the kill the gays bill in Uganda. Prominent Christian clergy helped write the bill and praised it as the kind of godly measure they can't get passed in this country. Nigeria also has had increasing attacks on gays and more stringent legislation.
Back to Russia: At the time of the 1917 Revolution, the tsarist laws against homosexuality were wiped off the books. There was no rights movement in Russia as there was in some Western European countries, most notably Germany, but the Bosheviks had the (correct) idea that that state should not control private morality. But as South Africa shows, legislation is not enough when attitudes don't change. The Stalinist counterrevolution targeted progressive legislation, bringing back the ban on homosexuality, also outlawed abortion (this was later overturned).
And in good old Virginia, they are still trying to make oral and anal intercourse between consenting adults in private, even if married, a crime, despite the Supreme Court ruling this is unconstitutional. And yes, corrective rape happens here.
