Russian President Vladimir Putin acted to cement moral ties with the Russian population last week by declaring that Russia would not legalize gay marriage as long as he holds power in the Kremlin, reports Reuters.
Putin said he would not allow the long-held traditions of motherhood and fatherhood to be replaced by what he called “parent number 1” and “parent number 2.”
“As far as ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number 2’ goes, I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it again: as long as I’m president this will not happen. There will be dad and mum,” Putin said.
Putin has closely aligned himself with the Orthodox Church during his two decades in power. He has sought to distance Russia from left-wing Western causes like homosexuality and gender fluidity.
He made the comments as he met a state commission that was set up in January to weigh changes to the Russian constitution. The commission was set up last month after Putin announced changes to Russia’s political system that are widely seen as an attempt to retain power after his impending departure from office in 2024.
Other proposals have since been put forward and Putin was asked to comment on a proposal to add a line in the constitution defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
