A recent study surveying European values has found that while attitudes toward homosexual minorities have improved slightly across Europe, they have worsened in Central and Eastern European countries.

A report released this year by European LGBTQ watchdog group Ilga-Europe, which measured LGBTQ welfare according to factors such equality, legal gender recognition and family status, Russia ranked the lowest of the 49 countries measured.

Images of violence against LGBTQ individuals in Russia spread across social networks this past summer, while politicians in Russia’s Duma, the country’s parliament, unanimously passed a bill banning the promotion of gay lifestyles. These events, and their subsequent reporting in international media, created controversy regarding the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic games.

In response to external criticism, Chairman of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin spoke in front of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, using examples of the numerous gay clubs in Moscow to illustrate how its LGBTQ community there enjoys an equal or similar lifestyle as heterosexuals. He elaborated on the subject, commenting that “people of non-traditional sexual orientations flourish in the arts and business and enjoy equal civil rights.”

"Russian society is a traditional society," said senior Oleg Shenderyuk, a student from Russia. "It does not necessarily mean that people are close-minded, but to them [the LGBTQ community] seems as a bit too much liberal to accept.”

“It is not just the government that doesn't accept the LGBT community,” he  added. “Society itself, the people, don't accept them.”

Shenderyuk said that part of the conflict arose from limited exposure to the LGBT community.

“Most Russians don't know they've met a gay person. In Moscow, [the] LGBT community is well-established. In big cities, people respect them and don't have problems with them,” he said. “But people don't want to be imposed [on by] concepts such as gay parade[s] and certain marriage laws.”

A similar pattern has emerged in Romania.

“LGBT rights in Romania have been a source of debate for a long time, since the fall of communism in 1989," said freshman Alexandru Rosca. "In the advent of democracy, people were trying to think more liberally, and [they] became more occupied with LGBT rights, but they haven’t reached a point where [the LGBT people] are mentioned in the constitution or any law.”

Rosca indicated that LGBTQ were neither supported nor outwardly condemned by Romanian law.

Across Eastern Europe, the LGBTQ community has encountered continuous resistance from the countries’ legal systems. While countries such as France and the United Kingdom have recently legalized gay marriage, Polish lawmakers struck down three bills on civil unions for unmarried couples, whether gay or straight.

Legal bans on gay rights permeate through Eastern Europe — with the notable exception of the Czech Republic, where civil unions for gay couples are permitted.

Ukraine, however, is similar to its Eastern European neighbors in that homophobia still abounds, with one study reporting that more than 79 percent of Ukrainians were opposed to homosexuality. The most tolerant demographic is under 29 years old and living in the nation’s capital.

Csilla Kiss, a Hungarian senior, said homosexuality is generally seen as unnatural in her home country.

“The general attitude is ... ‘they can do whatever they want as long as I don't see it,’" she said.

Despite how this passivity might appear to be less violent and more accepting, Kiss said that this is not the case.

“Since sexuality is a public issue, this passive attitude is not better than clearly articulated hatred,” she said. “To align with the general opinion, the government also opposes same sex marriage.”

Recent events in Russia and other Eastern European countries, as well as the countries' overall negative or indifferent attitudes towards LGBTQ communities, begs the question: What about gay marriage?

“Marriage is an institution involving two people from the opposite sex. It is very unlikely that it will change in the near future, unless the European Union pressures Hungary to change it,” Kiss said, with regards to the Hungarian legal system.

Alexandru Rosca expressed a similar sentiment.

“[It] was brought up at some point in the [Romanian] parliament sessions and was ... brought down right away," he said. "They didn't really care about it. So, at this point, gay marriage as a legal term is nonexistent in Romania, not even as a civil partnership. At least 15 years need to pass for younger generations to come to power and change the attitudes of the people about this issue.”

Rosca is optimistic for Romania’s future.

"I put a lot of trust in younger generations. Every year that passes, people become more open to change,” he added.

Shenderyuk said that similar beliefs in Russia are not likely to change in the near future.

“In Russia, it doesn't exist. It is not recognized by any institution. There is no [legal] structure for it,” he said.

Although 70 percent of Russians say they stand behind traditional values, Shenderyuk believes that, gradually, people’s minds will begin to open and respect will develop for LGBTQ rights.

“The recipe is time," said Shenderyuk. "There is a particular street in Moscow which has approximately 20 gay bars. People do understand that it exists, but it becomes something only when a couple of important people come out. Otherwise, it's in the back of your mind.”

In Eastern Europe, however, the possibility of change is hampered by traditional values, religion and, in some countries, communism.

“During communism, religion was prohibited," said Rosca. "The LGBT community was drastically punished for 'sexual inversion’ and got up to 10 years in prison.”

Although certain people are hoping for future change, the recent disturbances and happenings in Eastern Europe are discouraging. One may be forced to agree with The Economist, which reported in 2010 that pepole are just "not there yet."