Russian host Pavel Lobkov, 48, announced live on World AIDS Day that he had been carrying HIV since 2003. A rare coming-out in Russia.
To change mentalities in Russia, where AIDS remains a taboo subject, a famous presenter announced his HIV status live on television. It is Pavel Lobkov, 48, who revealed that he had been carrying the virus since 2003 on the antenna of the independent TV channel Dojd.
In comments reported by Agence France Presse (AFP), he told viewers Tuesday evening: “Today, I took up a major challenge with this revelation,” he said on World Day fight against AIDS. Known in Moscow for his outspokenness, he said that a doctor had told him in 2003 showing him a file on which was written “HIV +” in red marker, and that he could no longer seek treatment in his clinic because that he was HIV positive.
His immediate reaction was terrible “there was an open window, very high,” he says, later admitting that he had thought of killing himself.
A taboo subject in Russia
This coming out is very symbolic in a country where more than 930,000 people are currently carriers of the AIDS virus. This is almost twice as much as in 2010, according to recent official statistics which, for many experts, underestimate the reality.
With this speech, Pavel Lobkov also aroused emotion on social networks. “Taking such a step is not trivial for someone of his stature,” wrote on Twitter Pavel Tchikov, the founder of Agora, an association of lawyers who provide assistance to activists in the crosshairs of the Kremlin. But in a country where homophobia is rife, the presenter has also suffered insults and threats, most of them homophobic.
As the media indicate today, the AIDS virus is partly linked in the Russian popular imagination to homosexual and adulterous relations. This under the influence of the powerful Orthodox Church, which still opposes the use of condoms …
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