While America is opening up to homosexuality, with several states legalizing gay marriage, the same can't be said for some other parts of the world. In Russia, for example, Elton John has been threatened with protests at his upcoming concerts if he doesn't tone down his flamboyant stage wear.

Believe it or not, John has been told that his stage outfits are "homosexual propaganda" that could break local laws that consider promoting homosexuality a crime, the Russian news agency Ria Novosti reports. He's scheduled to play a gig in the city of Krasnodar on July 14.

Instead of his usual gear, representatives from the Communists of Russia party say John should instead don "more respectable" traditional Cossack duds, including a knee-length caftan, a fur hat and leather boots.

John might be down with the fur hat and leather boots, but we're not sure if he'd rock a caftan. Can it be bedazzled?

Elton isn't the first star to be targeted by Russian conservatives. In 2012, Madonna was sued for more than $10 million for "promoting homosexuality" when she spoke out for gay rights at a concert in St. Petersburg, but the suit was later thrown out of court.

In other Elton John news that those conservatives in Russia likely wouldn't approve of, he appears on the new Queens Of The Stone Age album …Like Clockwork. Elton plays piano and sings background vocals on the track "Fairweather Friends," which also features Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums.

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