The petty absurdity of Russian anti-gay hysteria seems to know no bounds.
On Monday it was revealed that a monument to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been dismantled because current Apple CEO Tim Cook has come out as gay.
The iPhone-shaped two-metre-high memorial was erected in St Petersburg in January 2013 by the Russian company ZEFS.
It has now been taken down because it could be seen as a symbol of so-called “gay propaganda.”
In a statement, ZEFS noted that the monument, located on a university campus, was “in an area of direct access for young students and scholars.”
The company said: “After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values.”
On Thursday last week, Cook became the first Fortune 500 CEO to come out as gay, writing: “I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”
Almost immediately after, notoriously homophobic St Petersburg politician Vitaly Milonov called for Cook to be banned for life from entering Russia.
In June last year, Russia’s President Putin signed the federal law banning gay “propaganda,” which has been used to restrict media freedom and music concerts, to ban gay Pride events and protests and has led to an increase in discrimination against LGBT people.
Maxim Dolgopolov, the head of ZEFS, said he backed the law, explaining that, “Sin should not become the norm.”
