Alexander Baunov Profile picture
Oct 1, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read Read on X
1/7 Among much real and imagined bad news from Russia, this really is awful bit.ly/2SeZaRJ
2/7 Russia’s Investigative Committee has arrested staff & doctors of companies that provided surrogacy services to single men (in reality, some of them in gay couples), is removing children from their families, & threatening to charge the fathers with trafficking children.
3/7 There is ongoing discussion about the moral and legal aspects of surrogacy around the world. But the arguments the Russian authorities are using in this particular case have nothing to do with protecting women or children.
4/7 Investigators claim that the fathers had no right to use the procedure of artificial insemination, because they are of “non traditional sexual orientation.”
5/7 Their crazed logic runs this way: artificial insemination is a fertility treatment given to women and couples, but a healthy single man cannot be infertile, and a single man of non-traditional sexual orientation can’t be a sperm donor, so it must be child trafficking.
6/7 Last year, a gay Russian couple had to emigrate when authorities tried to seize custody of their adopted children who had lived with them for years, purely on the grounds that the parents were in a same sex partnership. The officials who had allowed the adoption were punished
7/7 As time goes by, the anti-gay legislation—which in the beginning seemed more rhetorical than practical—is gradually taking on a chilling and very real form.

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More from @baunov

Jun 1
THREAD 1/12 The fact that Russia possesses nuclear weapons and delivery systems remains a key limiting factor for continued support to Ukraine. The logic goes: if Ukraine hasn’t won the war in three years, it probably won’t win it at all — and meanwhile, every day carries nuclear risk.
2/12 Nuclear posturing has become a routine tool used by both lower-level and more senior subordinates of Putin. Recently, even Keith Kellogg, from the Trump administration, reacted to it.
3/12 A strike on Russia’s nuclear deterrence infrastructure should demonstrate to skeptics that this nuclear threat has limits — it is not absolute, and it can be diminished or even neutralized.
Read 12 tweets
Dec 29, 2024
"Putin’s Sorry to Azerbaijan: An Apology Without Guilt?" THREAD 1/19 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev did not let Putin’s apology close the issue. Instead, he responded with sharp criticism. Why?
2/19 It’s all about how the Kremlin framed its apology — it reads like an apology without an admission of guilt.
3/19 Putin’s call, made at his initiative, is unprecedented for Russian diplomacy, which usually demands apologies from others while positioning itself as a victim of an "unjust world order." This reversal is extraordinary.
Read 19 tweets
Dec 26, 2024
Thread: Russia's version of multipolarity, tested by the downing of an Azerbaijani plane. 1/9 The incident with the downed Azerbaijani flight is a stark illustration of what "multipolarity" means in the Russian worldview:
2/9 the right of bigger, stronger nations to act with impunity and arrogance toward smaller ones. This is exactly what Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev experienced firsthand when he abruptly turned his plane around en route to St. Petersburg for the informal CIS summit.
3/9 That turn will go down in history, not just for Azerbaijan, but for all so-called "middle powers" — nations that Putin flatters when they show some support for Russia's confrontation with the West but immediately bullies and humiliates when they dare to assert their own truth
Read 10 tweets
Nov 21, 2024
THREAD 1/10 It now makes sense why Maria Zakharova was cut off during the briefing and asked not to comment on the ballistic missile strike.
2/10 A statement from “the man himself” (Putin) was expected. Had she spoken, it would’ve preempted the intended gravity of the event, turning it into routine—and perhaps, due to her style, even farce.
3/10 Was the interruption planned to build suspense or spontaneous? Likely the latter. A typical working moment brought to the surface due to urgency—perhaps the Foreign Ministry had its response ready, but mid-briefing, the Presidential Administration ordered silence.
Read 10 tweets
Oct 21, 2024
THREAD 1/15 Maia #Sandu essentially repeated David Cameron's gamble and has nearly staged #Moldova's Brexit (Moldexit) even before joining the EU.
2/15 Sandu assumed that the pro-European sentiment among voters was stronger than the support for her government. Since she leads the pro-European camp, she expected that backing the European choice would strengthen her mandate and lift her political standing.
3/15 Cameron had a similar strategy—he sought to tap into euroscepticism, thinking it would boost his mandate without going beyond his control.
Read 15 tweets
Mar 18, 2024
THREAD 1/12 The result of #Putin reelection of more than 85% was predictable for many reasons. In the 2012 elections, it was over 60%, in 2018 over 70%, and in 2024 it's expected to be over 80%. More than 90% will be reserved for the very end—towards 2030.
2/12 Many Russian governors have been re-elected with over 80% of the vote after the start of the war. In 2023, there were 8 out of 21, some even with 86%. Putin had to get more.
3/12 The unprecedentedly irresponsible decision to invade Ukraine needed to be balanced by a figure that would demonstrate unwavering support for it.
Read 12 tweets

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