FROM THE WINDS OF CHANGE TO A LOT OF HOT AIR

October 22, 2012

Madonna has been summoned to appear in a St Petersburg court on Thursday for having challenged a bill that was passed in the city last February that criminalised the promotion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community to minors .

The charges relate to her concert there on August 9, where she distributed pink wristband and urged her supporters to raise their arms and show their support and love for the gay community.

It is a tragedy that the magnificent St Petersburg, with its rich cultural heritage, should now have more in common with Kampala, Islamabad and Riyadh, than the modern cities of the twenty-first century. In deed, if President Putin had his way, the whole of Russia would be following suit and become the repressive power it was before the fall of the iron curtain.

The greatest tragedy of all is that Mr Putin is having his way.