Putin： Tchaikovsky was gay but Russians love him anyway 普廷說：柴可夫斯基是同志，但俄羅斯人還是愛他

Russia’s pride in composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, even though he was gay, is proof that the country does not discriminate against homosexuals, President Vladimir Putin said. 即便作曲家柴可夫斯基是同志，但從俄羅斯以他為榮這點來看，證明俄羅斯並未歧視同性戀者，俄羅斯總統普廷說。 Putin was apparently seeking to ease concerns that a new law banning "gay propaganda" will be used to clamp down on gay rights. 普廷此言顯然是要舒緩（外界對於）一條禁止「同志宣傳」的新法律會被用來打壓同志權益的憂慮。 "Tchaikovsky was gay - although it’s true that we don’t love him because of that - but he was a great musician and we all love his music. So what?," Putin said in an interview with Russian state Channel 1 television. 「柴可夫斯基是同志——雖然老實說我們愛他不是因為這一點——但他是偉大的音樂家，我們都愛他的音樂。（他是同志）又怎樣？」普廷在接受俄羅斯國營1號頻道電視專訪時如是說。 "There is no cause to make a mountain out of a molehill, nothing scary or terrible is happening here in our country." 「沒有理由為此小題大作，我們國家裡沒發生什麼可怕或令人恐懼的事。」 Asked whether he would meet members of the gay and lesbian community, Putin said： "I assure you that I work with these people, I sometimes award them with state prizes." （Reuters） 在被問到是否會和男女同志界的成員見面時，普廷說：「我向你保證，我跟這些人合作，我有時還頒發國家級獎給他們。」（路透） 新聞辭典 discriminate against someone or something：慣用語，歧視某人或某事。例句：This rule discriminates against single people.（這條規定歧視單身者。） clamp down （on someone or something）：慣用語，鎮壓，取締（某人或某事）。例句：Egypt’s military-backed government is to clamp down on Al Jazeera’s Egyptian television channel, accusing it of threatening national security, the state news agency MENA said.（軍方扶植的政府將取締半島電視台的埃及頻道，指控該台危及國家安全，埃及國營通訊社MENA表示。） make a mountain out of a molehill：慣用語，小題大作。