"Controversial "treatments" by psychotherapists and preachers are being offered to gay people in Russia.
BBC Russian heard accounts of so-called cures, after it emerged that gay men were being persecuted in Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic in southern Russia.
On Tuesday German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had asked President Vladimir Putin to "use his influence to protect the rights of minorities", referring to the reports from Chechnya.
Homosexuality is not officially considered a mental disorder in Russia. But homophobia is common - not only in Chechnya.
Russia removed homosexuality from its list of recognised psychiatric conditions in 1999 - after the US had done so in 1973 and the World Health Organization in 1992.
Globally, scientists do not recognise any "treatment" of homosexuality as effective or required"
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39777612
Why can't Vladimir Putin get it through his head that curing homosexuality is about as pointless as trying to cure autism?