Tilda Swinton joins protests against Russian LGBT crackdown

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Actress Tilda Swinton unfurled a rainbow flag in Moscow. (Photo via Twitter)

“In solidarity. From Russia with love.”

That was the text accompanying actress Tilda Swinton’s photo, which she put on Twitter today throught her representative, Christian Hodell, showing her with a rainbow flag in Moscow in protest against the ongoing Russian crackdown on LGBT rights activities.

The crackdown includes the newly adopted ban on “gay propaganda,” which is aimed at stifling public discussion of gay rights and public displays of same-sex affection. It also includes crippling fines levied on LGBT rights organizations as unregistered “foreign agents” if they accept any financial support from abroad.

Looming next in the protests is the possibility of a boycott of the Winter Olympics scheduled for Sochi, Russia, from Feb. 7 to 23, 2013.

RUSA LGBT, a Russian-speaking LGBT organization based in New York, has called for such a boycott.

Other possibilities are protests against the Russian stance during Olympic ceremonies. The O-blog-dee blog commented:

If the athletes will not boycott the games that they at least [could] walk into the Opening Ceremonies not only waving the usual flags of their home countries but also rainbow flags in solidarity with their fellow LGBT athletes and the LGBT community in Russia.

The International Olympic Committee is still silent on how they will ensure the safety of the athletes and all who attend the Games in a country violating the IOC’s own charter for non-discrimination.