After 25 years of ruling Russia with an iron fist, there’s no shortage of legitimate criticisms to level against Vladimir Putin. But recent attacks focusing on his alleged homosexuality miss the mark entirely. Sexual orientation should never be weaponized – and in Putin’s case, there are so many actual crimes to condemn.
Since his 2013 divorce from Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, Putin has maintained an unusually private personal life. While rumors swirl about supposed relationships with women like Svetlana Krivonogikh, the gays can be trusted to not keep such a “secret”. The truth became harder to ignore as Putin’s increasingly obvious makeup, hair plugs, and plastic surgery transformed his appearance.
In 2022, Putin saw himself forced to pass a law making it illegal to talk about his homosexuality.
So yes, Putin is gay. And that’s perfectly fine. What’s not fine is everything else about his brutal regime.
From KGB Bureaucrat to War Criminal
Putin’s early career as a mid-level KGB officer in Dresden, East Germany (1985-1990) looks almost quaint compared to his later atrocities. Putin coordinated with the Stasi secret police and allegedly hosted members of West Germany’s Red Army Faction terrorist group. Former RAF members later described how Putin would advise them on future terror attacks while providing weapons and cash.
These were merely the apprentice years of a man who would graduate to far worse.
The 2008 Invasion of Georgia: Testing Western Weakness
In August 2008, Russia launched a swift invasion of Georgia under the pretext of protecting separatists in the Russian-created puppet state of South Ossetia. Russian forces:
- Bombed civilian areas in Gori and Tskhinvali, killing hundreds
- Engaged in ethnic cleansing, forcing tens of thousands of Georgians to flee their homes
- Violated ceasefire agreements, occupying Georgian territories that remain under Russian control today
The conflict was a warning – Putin would use military force to expand Russian influence.

Syria (2015-Present): Propping Up a Butcher
Russia’s intervention in Syria turned the tide in Bashar al-Assad’s favor, enabling some of the worst atrocities of the 21st century. Russian airstrikes deliberately targeted:
- Hospitals and schools, with the UN documenting over 300 attacks on medical facilities
- Civilian bread lines and markets using cluster munitions and incendiary bombs
- Chemical weapons sites, with evidence suggesting Russian complicity in Assad’s sarin gas attacks
By shielding Assad at the UN and providing military support, Putin ensured the survival of a regime responsible for half a million deaths. Putin continues to host Assad in Moscow to this day.
Ukraine (2014-2024): A War of Annihilation
Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was not an isolated act but the culmination of years of aggression, beginning with the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Since then, Russian forces have:
- Deported thousands of Ukrainian children, a crime the International Criminal Court (ICC) deemed potential genocide, leading to an arrest warrant for Putin
- Committed massacres in Bucha, Mariupol, and Izium where civilians were executed en masse
- Systematically tortured prisoners of war with horrific accounts of electrocution, beatings, and mock executions

Silencing the Opposition: Killings, Poisonings, and Prison Camps
Putin’s critics have a habit of dying young:
- Alexander Litvinenko (2006): Poisoned in London with polonium-210.
- Boris Nemtsov (2015): Gunned down steps from the Kremlin.
- Sergei Skripal (2018): Survived Novichok nerve agent attack, a bystander died.
- Alexei Navalny (2024): Died in an penal colony after surviving poisoning.
Next dissident? There’s hardly anyone left…
The Crushing of Dissent Inside Russia
Beyond assassinations, Putin has built a police state where opposition is criminalized:
- “Fake news” laws now punish any criticism of the war with up to 15 years in prison.
- Journalists like Anna Politkovskaya (2006) and Natalya Estemirova (2009) were murdered for investigating Kremlin crimes.
- Political prisoners, including Vladimir Kara-Murza (poisoned twice, now serving 25 years), rot in penal colonies.

Cyber Warfare, Disinformation, and Global Destabilization
Russia under Putin has weaponized information, hacking elections and spreading chaos:
- Disinformation in Africa and Europe: From funding Wagner Group propaganda in Mali, Central African Republic or Equatoril Guinea the Kremlin sows division and tries to manipulate and exploit sovereign African states.
- Ransomware Attacks: Russian-linked cybercriminals have targeted hospitals, pipelines (Colonial Pipeline hack), and governments, extorting billions.
Putin’s war isn’t just fought with tanks—it’s waged through lies, hacking, and psychological manipulation.
The Real Crime Isn’t Who Putin Loves – It’s Who He Kills
At the end of the day, Putin’s sexuality doesn’t matter. What matters are the mass graves in Bucha, the bombed maternity wards in Mariupol, the political prisoners freezing in Siberian penal colonies, and the thousands of lives destroyed by his imperial delusions.
The world shouldn’t care if Putin is gay. It should care that he’s a war criminal – and act accordingly.