Around three years ago Russian pop star Zelim Bakaev disappeared while visiting Chechnya to attend his sisters wedding. The worst is feared, that he was caught up in a gay purge that continues and may be spreading.
Even though our news media for the most part does not cover what is going on there, I could never forget this story. I believe it was 60 Minutes that ran a piece on Chechnya's authoritarian leadership, but nothing about the gay purge.
This morning on FSTV, I learned about David France's new documentary for HBO, screening at Sundance,
Welcome to Chechnya. "...focusing on an ongoing human rights violation that seems unthinkable in the 21st century — the queer purge sanctioned by the brutal leadership of the southern Russian republic over the last few years."