Whenever a country’s social contract unravels, conditions become ripe for rumors and absurdities to circulate. Even when these are outrageous and obviously nonsensical, they can give expression to a people’s deepest fears and prejudices.
Such is the case in Russia today, where Sergei Markov, a former adviser to President Vladimir Putin, has warned that Ukraine is creating “gay super soldiers” to wage war against his country: “Military theorists and historians know which army in Greece was the strongest, remember? The Spartans. They were united by a homosexual brotherhood. They were all homos. These were the politics of their leadership. I think they are planning the same for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.”
Of course, this mixture of homophobia, fake history and Marvel comic-inspired ideas of super soldiers indicates that Markov is not interested in encouraging critical thinking and reasoned analysis. No matter: Such idiotic statements apparently resonate with at least some important segments of Russian society.