Gay Russia News & Reports 2011 Jan-May

Arman realised he is gay at around 12-13 when he’s got a crush on his PE teacher. The realisation that he is gay was like a torture to him, as he knew very well that it was not “accepted”, it was not “normal” in Armenia. He came to Moscow around 4 years ago (early 2000s) seeking a freer society. Despite all the state level homophobia and violence towards gays, Russian society remained more open re gays, sexuality and sex compared to other post-Soviet states [This was the case during the Soviet Union too.] In fact, it was in Moscow that for the first time Arman came out as gay. But not to all, and surely not to his parents.

I have to say, he is a brave guy by deciding so openly to participate in this film and become one of its main heroes. While watching the film I couldn’t help myself but wonder what would happen if Arman’s parents see the film. Of course, no one expects that this kind of films would go on broad release in Russia and Armenia, but still… Now, 3 years on after the first screening of East/West – Sex & Politics, I wonder if he is still afraid of telling his parents that he is gay… I wonder if these years (from the time of shooting the film to present days) brought about changes in his life. There surely must be changes. But what kind of changes? I hope for better. Brave guy, in any case…

He is handsome, politically and socially conscious, regular at gym. He said there is no such term as “homophobia” in Armenian language as this problem is “nonexistent” for Armenian society. However, he mentioned that ironically, if you visit Yerevan, you might get an impression that everyone around is gay, as men walk holding hands in public. He was once got severely beaten when Russian neo-nazi skinheads made a real bloodshed in front of a gay club in Moscow. They were attacking, beating everyone whom they perceive as gay. Arman said that only a miracle made him stay alive. He also mentioned that in his case the perception of being gay perhaps did not play an important role, but rather his dark, Caucasian looks.

Despite ‘being himself’ in Moscow, he did not seem very happy, complaining that all his encounters end up to be one night stands, or flings… But he did not give up his dream of finding THE man.

On the day of attempts at staging a Gay Pride event in Moscow, which was disrupted by a violence from extreme orthodox religious fanatics and neo-nazi, he got a call from someone inviting him to a party. He was kind of dismayed by this invitation. He said, on one hand, there are people trying to fight for their and our rights and got attacked, on the other hand – that very night, another group of gay people keep partying. I know, it could be an ethical dilemma. I suppose one can’t expect from everyone to fight for rights etc. There are people who just want to enjoy their life, and it is perfectly acceptable and OK for me. But no guesses needed that I would associate myself more with Arman in this case, than with party goers, although – don’t get me wrong – I do like partying too.

Guys like Arman could be good role models for gay Armenian teenagers, and this film should be screened among them. OK, OK. I hear myself. What I just wrote sounds very old fashioned. “Role model”… Still, I use it in its broader sense. Basically, what I wanted to say, I sympathise with guys like Arman. Russian gays are divided into cliques, Arman said. Well, this is evident in Armenia (and other countries) too, and not just for gays. There are lots of cliques within and across the layers of our society. However, Arman said that he does not belong to any, he is kind of a loner. In this context, good for you, Arman. ‘The worst thing for Russian gays is being ugly and poor.’ [The whole auditorium, myself including, burst into laughing.]

January 16, 2011 – The New York Times

2
Inadequate Fight Against Drugs Hampers Russia’s Ability to Curb H.I.V.

by Michael Schwirtz
Moscow — They look like addicts anywhere in the world: tattered and vacant-eyed, they circle Moscow pharmacies known to sell prescription drugs illicitly, looking for something to inject for a quick high. Though public examples of Russia’s problem with heroin are not new and seldom bring even raised eyebrows among locals, the issue has recently come to symbolize a broader failure. The country has become one of the world’s low points in the effort to fight the spread of H.I.V., and unchecked intravenous drug use is the biggest cause, international health officials say.

The epidemic here has defied worldwide trends, expanding more rapidly year by year than almost anywhere else. Nearly 60,000 new cases of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, were documented in Russia in 2009, an 8 percent increase from 2008, according to Unaids, the United Nations H.I.V./AIDS program. Of those new cases, more than 60 percent were believed to have been caused by intravenous drug use, and many of the others were believed to have been infected through sex with addicts. Though South Africa, with more infections than any other country, far outstripped that total number, with an estimated 390,000 new infections in 2009, the rate of new infections annually has decreased there by nearly half since its peak in the late 1990s.

“I’ve been researching the problem of H.I.V. infection for 25 years, and I must say that the situation has become significantly worse” in Russia, said Dr. Vadim V. Pokrovsky, the head of the country’s Federal AIDS Center. While in recent years the government has increased its efforts to fight the disease, Dr. Pokrovsky said, current programs almost completely neglect those groups at the heart of it.

Officials estimate that well over a million people abuse drugs intravenously in Russia, often sharing and infecting one another with tainted needles. They are among Russian society’s most marginalized people, more likely to face a few weeks handcuffed to a clinic bed than to receive basic treatment to break their addictions. Meanwhile, officials have treated sex education and other preventative programs with open hostility.

“Which are the main infected groups? Injecting-drug users and sex workers,” said Lev Zohrabyan, the Europe and Central Asia adviser for Unaids. “It turns out that these are the groups where the money must be directed to change the picture. But if you open the budget, you will see that for prevention work among these groups for the next two years there is nothing.” Top officials have consistently blamed the United States’ failure to eradicate heroin production in Afghanistan for Russia’s intravenous drug problem. About 90 percent of Russian addicts use Afghan heroin, according to the Federal Drug Control Service.

Yet once the drugs pass through Russia’s porous borders with former Soviet republics in Central Asia, dealers find a ready market of addicts with few tools to help them quit. While some regions have experimented with needle-exchange programs, the practice, which has proven effective at reducing the spread of H.I.V. in other countries, has not been adopted on a national level. The country’s top medical and political officials have roundly condemned drug substitution therapy for heroin addicts — the use of methadone or other narcotics, widely considered an effective way to wean people off the drug — on the basis that it substitutes one form of addiction for another. Doctors who have flouted the official ban on the treatment have faced prosecution and even harassment by Kremlin-backed youth groups.

The Russian Orthodox Church, which has become a significant voice in the country’s political affairs in the past decade, has also expressed strong opposition to such preventative measures. Even a new antinarcotics strategy ordered by President Dmitri A. Medvedev last summer acknowledges Russia’s failure to adequately confront the problem. “Prophylactic activities, medical aid and rehabilitation of patients with drug addiction are not sufficiently effective,” said the document, posted on Mr. Medvedev’s Web site.

Read article

January 31, 2011 – news.gay.by
Google Russian to English translation

3
Russia Targets Gays with Public Service Ads

Russian gay project LaSky released public service ads aimed at drawing attention to gay men and men who have sex with men to maintain their health and condom use. Clips were released during the campaign, "Trust and wear a "protection" by the FOCUS-MEDIA and manufactured ANO Laboratory of social advertising. In addition to the three video-clips, the campaign issued three types of stickers, small booklets and leaflets.

According to the organizers the campaign and the materials readers should be encouraged to seek information, take responsibility for their own health and less risky behavior in terms of HIV infection. The campaign will be promoted in 10 regions of Russia, taking into account the specifics of various subcultures including homosexual community.

George Molodtsov, creative director and director of ANO Lab social advertising, writes that the experiment was to establish the first such advertising. I would very much like to see these works help in some way to enable discussion on the topic presented.

Video links here

February 3, 2011 – Rainbow News, Gay.Ru
Google Russian to English translation

4
Gay Activist From the Komi Republic Beaten Unconsciousness

(Komi Republic, Russia) – Artem Kalinin, a leader of public organization "Another Look" (Komi), was attacked by homophobes. Today, LGBT activists Syktyvkar (capital city of Komi) issued a statement which highlighted that the January 29 evening Kalinin was beaten by a group of unknowns, shouting homophobic insults.

"… The man bosses fights – says the victim of gay activist – periodically podnachival friends, they say, deal with it, killing them should be …". "Thank God that in due time I had to actively engage in melee combat, since I was a long time in the regional office of the RNE, and experience, as they say, do not spend on drink. To gather strength, I managed to knock out two of the three who attacked my enemies. I thought that was all finished, we flew past a police patrol, but, unfortunately, our brave law enforcement agencies, and decided not to intervene. As time went on, my jacket was torn almost to shreds, from the nose and mouth bleeding, eye swell, legs and arms ached from the pain. I last strength tried to escape, but one guy decided to continue the pursuit, two remained with the nose … The rest I remember vaguely husky shied me something on my head, I fainted. Thugs disappeared, apparently thinking that I probably dead. "

January 31 Kalinin, filed an application to the police department in the city Syktyvkar. "… I was pleased – continues gay activist – that the police took me as a mother, although well aware of what I do. Laugh, jokes or homophobic strife I did not feel, representatives of more than behaving correctly. Already The next day I successfully hosted a forensic examination, which is fully documented numerous traces of beatings. The case for small – to punish the criminals. "

Komi Republic (Syktyvkar) is a territory with low tolerance for LGBT citizens. It became clear in the past two years, when regional gay activists attempted to hold a series of educational and advocacy activities. With sharp statements against LGBT appear here by the representatives of the ROC. So, in spring 2010 dean of the local diocese, Father Alexander during the debate in the press said that gay people "… the law of Moses to death with stones killed …". And earlier this year, Syktyvkar Prosecutors found no violations in the slogan of one of the nationalist movements – "… destroy the homosexual!".

"Another Look" – Syktyvkar public organization concerned with human rights and social adaptation of sexual and gender minorities. Part of the Russian LGBT Network.

8 February 2011 – Fridae

5
Russian NGOs launch gay-targeted HIV prevention video ads

by News Editor
Launched on 30 January, the ‘Trust the condom’ campaign is aimed squarely at HIV and STI prevention among gay men and MSM (men having sex with men).

While the law criminalising gay sex acts was nullified in 1993, homosexuality is still largely considered a social taboo and unsanctioned gay rights parades in Moscow have been met with opposition by city authorities and violent counter-protests by ultra-nationalist groups.Produced by the Laboratory of Social Advertising, a independent organisation that broadcasts messages on social issues, and in association with Lasky, a Russian charity organisation and affiliate of the international non-profit organisation Population Services International (PSI), the videos will not be broadcast and will only be viewable only on the Internet, according to French gay website Tetu.

The campaign will also include brochures and flyers to be placed in places patronised by the target dempgraphic, and themed blogs on HIV/AIDS.

17 February 2011 – Pinknews

6
New Moscow mayor says no to gay Pride marches

by PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin says that the city does not need gay Pride marches. When asked by the Ekho Moskvy radio station if a march would be permitted this year, he said: “I doubt it.” The Moscow News reports that Mr Sobyanin continued: “I have my own opinion on this. Moscow absolutely does not need this and I am not in favour of it.”

The city’s last mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, repeatedly banned the marches on pretexts of health and safety and has called gays and lesbians “satanic”. In October, the European Court of Human Rights upheld three complaints over Moscow’s Pride ban. Russian gay rights leader Nikolai Alekseev complained to the court that the parade bans in 2006, 2007 and 2008 breached the European Convention on Human Rights. The court agreed.

Since 2006, campaigners have attempted to hold the events but these were broken up by police. In May 2006, more than 120 people were arrested and in 2007, British gay activist Peter Tatchell was severely beaten by neo-Nazis. In 2008, marchers accused police of brutality.

February 25, 2011 – Gay Russia

6a
Chelyabinsk: An anti-gay journalist apologizes… to gays

The reporter confessed he used homophobia as part as a strategy to increase traffic on his news portal. Chief Editor of the site UralDaily.Ru, Andrei Koretsky apologized to LGBT people for his past written homophobic articles. In his public apology, he called himself “a victim of marketing”, admitted that using insults against gays was a way to increase the traffic to his website and improve his revenues. "Comrades gays, excuse me for the words faggots. There is a lot of homophobes, and I hoped that they would visit my site" said the statement posted on the site UralDaily.Ru on February 21. I am a victim of marketing, gentlemen. I had no money, but I wanted to create an online resource. And without money, one can only promote a site with scandals” admitted Koretsky. Excuse me for all those I offended. Give me a chance to work. I will not do it again" asked the reporter.

The journalist remains under investigation by the police after a criminal case for libel was opened against him for using “black PR” and denigrating local politicians and government officials in Chelyabinsk. One of the past methods of Andrei Korestky was to accuse a public figure of being gay and incite an aggressive hatred campaign against him. But the journalist also targeted LGBT activists and called for violence against gay rights campaigners and gay pride marchers.

In several articles he called gays and lesbians "bastards-perverts" and suggested that LGBT activists should be killed: "They must be killed not physically, but morally: they should be turned away from Russia, and LGBT must be banned as extremist organization".

03 March 2011 – Bay Area Reporter

7
Russian gay activist speaks out

by Rex Wockner
Russian activist Nikolai Alekseev, who has been on the front lines of the gay rights fight in that country, was to appear in San Francisco next week, but the organizations sponsoring his visit have canceled their sponsorship of it. [See story, page 1.] The Bay Area Reporter caught up with Alekseev, 33, before news of the cancellation broke this week. He was asked about the state of the gay rights movement in Russia and other issues. Alekseev, who is a lawyer and journalist in addition to his activist work, agreed to an e-mail interview rather than one via phone or iChat.

What is bringing you to California?
Solidarity. I was once invited to Chicago by a local gay group, Gay Liberation Network, some years ago and we always kept in contact. Andy Thayer from the group came to Moscow Pride twice in 2009 and 2010. He was even arrested in 2009 with us. He has been a great help for us writing articles and commentaries about what he witnessed in Moscow and about our struggle.

I really appreciate our collaboration because Andy is not the kind of guy who will start to give advice on everything. He is coming to show his support and solidarity and to help. Often when foreigners come, they are crossing the line. They believe that because they have the experience of what happened in their countries some years ago, you have to mirror the same strategies and replicate the same thing. Well, Moscow of 2011 is not New York City of 1971 or Paris of 1981. Sharing experience is great – imposing a strategy is not what we need.

What are you going to say here?
I’ll give the primer for those who will come to listen to me but in a nutshell, as the last weeks have shown in North Africa, things can change very quickly in the world. These changes have been initiated by people, not by politicians. It should be a boost for many of us as it really shows everyone can make a change. I believe this to be true at all levels.

You’ve been critical of the U.S. and some U.S. gay activists on your Facebook page. What’s the nature of the disappointment, in a nutshell?
U.S. activists are, on average, often seen abroad as too self-centered. I know the excuse that I often hear from people when I say that is, "We cannot care for all the world." Usually, those who say that are those who do not care for anyone. It’s like denying to make a small donation for people starving in Africa on the basis that it will not change anything. I do not understand that.

You know, there’s something I cannot understand. I was looking at the money that was pulled in the campaign against Proposition 8. [The No on 8 campaign raised about $43 million.] It’s amazing. What a waste of money. Plus, the vote was lost, which showed that after all, it was not only a question of money. Only 1 percent, and maybe less, of the budget could have changed so many things for gay rights around the world but the same amount would not change the final result of the vote. But I am not naive. The companies who thought that it’s smart to give money to fight against Prop 8 are not those who would give something for gay rights in Asia or Africa. Perhaps there is a logic here but if one looks at it from the moon, it is hard to understand.

I remember an article from the Washington Blade which was detailing the paychecks of those working in the big quasi institutional LGBT organizations (I am not talking about grassroots). Amazing. Well, a very good job and a very well paid one for most of them. This is something that I cannot understand. When you’re campaigning for gay rights or for any other rights, you must be animated by a passion. I am not asking everyone to be like me and do it as a job without any income, but what I am saying is that there should be a kind of "ethic" and a limit. I made the choice not to earn anything from anyone in order to keep my independence. This is key. I don’t owe anything to anyone. You know, as soon as you get something from someone, you lose your independence either directly or indirectly. Plus, you risk falling in the game that you start spending more time running after donors to renew budget and future paychecks than doing the effective job on the field. All that is nonsense for me.

U.S. diplomacy is a bit strange for me. On one hand I read in the U.S. papers that [Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton and [President Barack] Obama are gay friendly. Clinton said often that she considers LGBT rights as part of her diplomacy, but at the same time they behave in an opposite way. Clinton came to Moscow in 2009. She inaugurated hand in hand with the former mayor a statue to a U.S. gay poet at the same place where three weeks earlier, all of us, by the way, also Andy Thayer, were arrested for staging the banned Pride. Not a word for us but nice photos and nice smiles with the homophobic mayor. Same thing some time later, when she was speaking about LGBT rights in Eastern Europe at an official dinner and mentioned the struggle of gay activists in … Albania. She found the right country in Europe where the U.S. had no strategic interest. As for Obama, he also came to Moscow. We were banned from organizing a rally while he was in Moscow (that was even advertised in the media) and at the same time, we were banned from taking part in the meeting his staff organized with local human rights activists. What does that mean? Gay rights are not human rights?

What’s the conclusion of all that? There’s a lot of hypocrisies here. Yes, they care for LGBT rights but to an extent that it does not hurt any other discussion. They care, but just a bit. It’s more a political tool than a real philosophy. But at the same time, how many people in America wrote to Clinton to tell her behavior in Moscow was not acceptable? Can you believe if only 1,000 people had done it? And if 1,000 people wrote her a letter before her trip to Moscow asking her to raise LGBT issues there? She would have remained quiet? At least, she would be more careful. That’s my message in a few words. With [just] sending a letter at the right time, you can make a change. We don’t ask for money.

These incidents have really been a big frustration for me. Really.

What does the struggling Russian gay movement need from other nations? Money? Political pressure? Delegations of visitors, for example, during Pride Week?
Money is definitely what is not needed. It only creates tensions and makes everyone nervous, especially in Eastern Europe. I am not saying that we are sitting on cash, as we have nothing, but what I am saying is that to change things, you don’t need money. You need passion, you need ideals, you need courage, and ideas also. It’s not money that changed power in Tunisia, Egypt, or Libya. It’s courage.

Foreign delegations are important but it needs to be done respecting a certain logic. It’s a well-known fact that in Russia we are just a small handful of activists ready to go in the streets. If you bring a delegation of 200 Americans or foreigners, it would be counterproductive. It would show that the Pride is a march of foreigners. Local media and anti-gay groups would be using it against us. This is the issue that activists face in Latvia or Lithuania, for example. In these smaller countries, it is difficult to find locals ready to show their faces, to face angry protesters and march in the streets. As a result, their Prides have a high concentration of foreigners. I think there is no shame for us to be 30 [people] trying to march in Moscow. If that’s what we are then that’s how it should be. The political opposition regularly attempts to organize public rallies as well. When these are allowed they are just a few hundred taking part. Can you believe it? In a city of 17 million and a country of 141 million?

The problem with our gay community is that people, when they can afford to, are ready to go to Prides in Paris, London, Berlin, or Amsterdam because for them it’s real fun. When we tell them to join us in Moscow, they say something like, "No, it is not possible here, people are not ready, it is too dangerous." They simply do not understand by going to Europe that they benefit from the result of the struggle of other activists some 30 years ago.

You have fought for more than five years to have a Pride march in Moscow. [Former] Mayor Yuri Luzhkov always banned it, then sent the cops to beat you up when small groups of people tried to march anyway. Finally, just recently, you won a big court case at the European Court of Human Rights against these bans. What have you learned from all this?

First of all, that we were right. For five years, I regularly filed dozens of court decisions from Russia that were all telling me that I was wrong. That the Pride [march] was banned lawfully, that my organization was barred to be registered lawfully, that it was constitutional to have a law which prevents the propaganda of homosexuality and all that kind of thing. The Moscow Pride decision that we won at the European Court is the first court decision that told me that I was right and that our rights were breached illegally.

I can tell you that after all these years of hearing the same stupid and illogical court decisions, I started to almost lose hope. It’s kind of strange but all these decisions were making me furious after I received each of them. Even though I knew in advance the result, I could not get used to it.

Moscow has a new mayor now? Is there any chance this year will be different?
Can you believe which level we have reached in Russia that despite the fact the constitution grants freedom of assembly to every citizen, that Russia ratified international treaties saying the same thing, and that we have just won this major case on the ban of the Pride at the European Court, we are still asking ourselves whether the new mayor will allow the next Pride. It’s kind of unrealistic. To answer your question, I believe that the decision will be taken neither by the mayor [Sergi Sobyanin] nor by his people, but after a consultation with the presidential administration. The previous bans were personally decided by Luzhkov but his successor is a pure "Kremlin product." He will be more careful. Once again, I am not saying President [Dmitry] Medvedev will be asked to opine on that (it’s only a Pride event, not the START treaty) but most likely one of his advisers will do.

March 13, 2011 – UK Gay News

8
Siberian City Gives Decisive Thumbs Down to Anti Gay Legislation – Less than 1% of Novokuznetsk favour banning same-sex relationships

by Nikolai Baev
Moscoa (Gay Russia) – The people of a Siberian city are indifferent to any laws prohibiting gay relationships, a survey published this weekend has found. Athena Marketing has conducted another study that asks residents in Novokuznetsk what laws they would like to see enacted. And a law prohibiting homosexual relations among citizens attracted less than one percent of the vote. Most respondents – 36% – indicated that they did not support any of the options, saying that it was difficult to answer.

However, ten percent of respondents said they would accept a law that brought-in capital punishment for murder, rape and paedophilia. And the same percentage was in favour of new labour laws that addressed such issues as assistance for young people in the job market, a shorter working week and pay increases. In third place was a law that would provide free medicine to citizens. Less important, the survey found, were such issues as tougher penalties for environmental damage and corruption, especially among the activities of public officials.

In the findings, “gay relationships” were grouped in the “other” category, along with the preservation of the old names, the guarantee of freedom of speech and protection of animal rights. The “other” category gained just one percent support.

Nikolai Alekseev, the head of GayRussia.Ru, said today that the poll findings were “interesting”, but cautioned that not too much should be read into them. “Less than one percent of those polled saying that they would approve of legislation prohibiting gay relationships does not mean that 99% per cent approve,” he pointed out. But the findings are encouraging in the campaign for LGBT rights – and it’s a step in the right direction.”

March 2011 – Gay.ru

9
…ЛГБТ-сеть готовит активистов по всей России – от Москвы до Сибири

В конце февраля в Томске несколько дней работала Школа ЛГБТ-активистов Сибири. Российская ЛГБТ-сеть собрала в этом западносибирском городе представители инициативных гей-групп и организаций из городов – Барнаула, Новосибирска, Томска, Омска, Тюмени, Кемерово. Всего семинары Школы посетили два десятка представителей квир-сообщества региона.

Подобные школы активистов стали регулярными. Так, всего лишь месяц назад активисты из Москвы, Екатеринбурга, Оренбурга, Ульяновска и Санкт-Петербурга собирались по инициативе Российской ЛГБТ-сети в столице России.

Первая общероссийская школа для ЛГБТ-активистов состоялась, напомним, в августе 2008-го, а вторая – в октябре 2009 года.

Российская ЛГБТ-сеть сегодня объединяет 15 региональных ЛГБТ-организаций. Число участников …ЛГБТ-сети постоянно увеличивается.

March 31, 2011 – Live Journal

9a
Russian LGBT Leader Artem Kalinin (Syktyvkar, Russia) Attacked and Injured by a Homophobe

by Dzmitry Filippau
Here is Artem’s story:
March 29, 2011, at about 12 o’clock at night, due to lack of home computer equipment I was going to go to computer club "Saigon" to work on the first day of Syktyvkar conducted "Week Against Homophobia 2011", which was held on March 28. To make itclear: I was sober and was not on the date – this is the question of possible rumors.

I left the house, heading towards the club. Suddenly, near the corner of my house, I saw a suspicious young man of strong physique at the age of 20-22 years. He hovered around the house, like he’s waiting for someone. I began to look closely, he went to another corner of the house, like hiding, waiting for the moment to attack. Standing by him fifteen meters, I told him: "What you’re here you go, wandering by windows?" He mumbled something in reply. I got a cell phone to call the police. At that very moment, as I reported his address, unknown "well-wisher" was moving in my direction with his hand in his pocket.

I realized that there is something he has probably edged weapons. I didn’t want to get into any fight, keeping in mind the previous attack, I quickly went a step toward my apartment, the stranger followed me. Not having time to open the door, I felt a sudden punch on my head, from which I began to lose coordination. Blood gushed out of my head, leaking on my whole neck and the collar of the jacket. We began to fight, he began to hit an unknown object all over my body as I realized later, it was a stick with an iron knob. As always, the neighbors did not hear anything and did not see the floor of my porch was covered with splashes of blood.

During the scuffle I was able to escape, I ran towards the nearest shop, "On the Pechorsakya Street", hoping to meet there the police or at least some more or less a living soul. Unfortunately, because of my own shoes, perhaps because of the ice-covered ground, I fell. The assailant chased me from the door of my house, made a punch in my face and head area, the stick in the hands of the assailant at the moment I have not noticed. I decided to reason the attacker and turned to him with the words: "Come on, calm down …" In response, I heard a familiar: "You’re a fag, I always wanted to kill you! If you want, I’ll kill you, I don’t care… ".

Also from his words, I realized that he had "a friend in police, who offered us to help trace you down, they won’t charge me for this". Of course, I realized that the attacker knows nothing about criminal charges, feeling his full impunity. I was lying on the cold snow, the guy went methodically to offend me by applying successive kicks to the body. At this point, a couple of young people were walking on the sidewalk who have done nothing to call for help or to have at least some resistance to the attacker. After some time, the police crew arrived which I called earlier. Most of all I was struck by the reaction of these employees have taken the side of my abuser. The assailant went on to explain that I was "fag, there’s no need for him to get acquainted with the guys" and then asked the law enforcement officials: "Fags are not jailed nowadays?" One of the officers replied laconically: "We shall investigate all this." The younger officer asked me: "Should I call an ambulance?"

This despite the fact that I was beaten up and bleeding everywhere. A second officer, as if unaware of my condition, he decided to make an examination on the spot. His questions were predictable: "What is your sexual orientation? Where this all was going on? We also need to know all circumstances of the case!". What does my sexual orientation have to deal with it? is it allowed in Russia to beat any people? Lying on the ground covered in blood, I was unable to answer the questions to me, awaiting the arrival of the ambulance. "ER" has appeared in a few minutes, I was taken to neuro-traumatological department oh Ezhvinsky area. The duty doctor examined me, stated the fracture of the nasal bridge, four wounds on my head and numerous bruises, contusions of the face.

After the hospital I went to the police department of Syktyvkar. In a taxi I called the police phone line "02". I was interested in only one question: "Where at the moment is the attacker?" A duty officer simply stunned me: "We filed a protocol on the young man, and then he was released". I tried to explain that by this act they are putting my life is a real danger! After all, he knows where I live, may come himself or send me his friends. I urgently asked to detain him, as I was going to submit a statement about him. To which the officer replied: "Your actions are illegal, I do not bear the responsibility for your life". I hung up the phone, driving to the building of the police department. Already in place, dealing with the duty officer, I asked for my pen and paper. He received the answer: "Well, we are obliged to you?" I had to ask for a pen from the employee, who was sitting at the entrance.

After some time from the next room to me came on duty policeman, who asked to go to his office to produce explanations and written statements. I want to thank the staff member, because I have never felt before such tolerance and humanity. He gave me a referral to a forensic medical examination, after I went home. After arriving home, on the doorstep I have discovered the attacker’s lost his hat, and a broken weapon – a stick with an iron knob, previously perceived by me as a stick with a nail.
I have also been found missing my private keys, which, apparently, I dropped during the fight. I hope they do not get into the hands of the assailant.

At this point I seriously fear for my life. For me, this attempt has well-defined character. I suppose that the attack may have been involved separate groups of homophobes or associates from nationalist organization "Rubezh Severa" because it is no secret that on their website posted the materials, openly calling to "crush faggots like shit", at the same time as we started to conduct activities of "Week Against Homophobia." Even if it is not people from "Rubezh Severa", I personally place all the responsibility for threats, assault, incitement to Alexei Kolegov with his "Rubezh Severa". Any mentally inadequate people, or just homophobic, as well as supporters of his organization, decided to please their master, because such uncontrolled authority calls "sodomites shall not pass", etc., can take it for granted. Who’s next?

I would like to appeal to the authorities. How long will you tolerate in inciting violence against the LGBT community? I now feel strong social pressure on all that is happening in our city. These acts of violence occurring in the country, outraged by not only the LGBT community in Russia, but also a lot of heterosexuals. I ask the government finally to take up a pack of neo-Nazi, operating in the Komi Republic in the guise of orthodoxy and the idea of monarchy. I will continue to work on political and human rights-based field for LGBT people, despite all my shortcomings and disadvantages. I ask that the LGBT people of the republic to stop hiding – as far as circumstances allow you to come together.

P.S. I think the next victims of these attacks can become chief editor of "ProGorod" Natalia Beshkareva or journalist Denis Sasin, who by coincidence, two days before the incident, as previously stated by newspaper "Red Flag" was also threatened by Alex Kolegov. I pray to God that these are not links of the same chain.

April 3, 2011 – UK Gay News

10
It Is “Impossible” to Ban a Gay Pride – Special Rapporteur of PACE Russia

Moscow,(GayRussia) – The Special Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to Russia, Swiss MP Andreas Gross, has said that Russia has no right to ban Gay Prides. Mr. Gross, said that in interviews last week that Russia must comply with the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe. The ECHR has already ruled the bans on Moscow Gay Pride were contrary to the European Human Rights Convention which Russia has signed. But Russia has asked that the Grand Chamber of the human rights court look again at the ruling – effectively an appeal.

“It is impossible to ban a gay pride parade,” he told Radio Liberty. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. And the [European Court of Human Rights] protects these basic human rights. The State can not decide whether these rights are implemented or not. The state’s task is to ensure the implementation of these rights. Mr. Gross also criticized the statement by the mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, that gay parades “do not need Moscow”.

“I am very disappointed that the new mayor inherits the policy on Gay Pride parades which was held by the previous mayor. Yuri Luzhkov had his flaws – he was not a democratic mayor and has been associated with corruption. I really do not understand why the new mayor is so against gay pride parades,” he said. “First of all, we must remember that Russia is a member of the Council of Europe, therefore, it adopted its basic principles. If a citizen feels that his rights have been violated, he may go to court. If the court agreed, then Russia should fulfil the court order. These are the rules. The Court finds that people have the right to assembly so it is protected by the convention. Russia signed the Convention,” he pointed out.

“If Russia wants to remain a member of the Council of Europe, it needs to take-on those values on which it is based. European culture is based on values rather than money or military principles.” Mr. Gross, in an interview with Ekho Moskvy, also drew attention to the fact that the Russian authorities should ensure the safety of gays and lesbians who openly express their opinions.

“The Committee of Ministers made clear that the government’s duty is to protect people when they want to say that some of their rights are not respected. If there is another group that wants to hold an alternative demonstration and say they are against homosexuals, then they, too, should have the right to express their opinions. In this case, the police must work to avoid any direct confrontations between the two groups,” he told the newspaper.

Mr. Gross said that homosexuals in Russia should have the right to freedom of assembly and association. “I think these two examples – the right to organise and the right to a free demonstration, the right to go out and hold demonstrations and peaceful protests – are very important because those two rights makes it possible to communicate to society, people in the community to discuss any problems together,” he said.

“And if there is no arena for free discussion, society begins to cultivate stereotypes, prejudices, and some bad feelings. Most problems occur from the fact that society is very poorly informed. For example, very few people know about the problems of transgender people,” he concluded.

Moscow Gay Pride is scheduled to be held this year on Saturday May 28

April 07, 2011 – LezGetReal

10a
Russian Gay Activist Targeted in Homophobic Attacks, Police refuse Action

by Melanie Nathan
Russian gay activist Artem Kalinin does not have a home computer and as he walked to his local Computer Club in Syktyvkar, he was attacked for a second time by a group of neo-Nazis. Kalinin describes seeing a suspicious young man of strong physique in his early twenties, as if waiting for someone. As Kalinin took his cell phone and called the police, the man approached. Having been attacked previously Kalinin was particularly aware and moved quickly back toward his apartment, while the stranger followed.

Before he was able to open the door, he was hit on the head, and saw blood gushing. Translated from Russian and reported on the ASYLUM LGBT Site, “We began to fight, he began to hit an unknown object all over my body as I realized later, it was a stick with an iron knob. As always, the neighbors did not hear anything and did not see the floor of my porch was covered with splashes of blood.” Kalinin was able to escape, “I ran towards the nearest shop, on Pechorsakya Street,” hoping to meet there the police or at least some more or less a living soul.” Kalinin fell and the assailant continued the beating, while shouting “You’re a fag, I always wanted to kill you! If you want, I’ll kill you, I don’t care… “.

According to Kalinin the assailant asserted that he had “a friend in police, who offered to help trace you down,: and further that he would not be arrested for the attack. The victim lay on the ground as the attacker repetitively kicked his body. Passersby did not help. Pursuant to his earlier call, Police finally arrived and immediately took the side of the attacker as the assailant went on to explain that Kalinin was “fag,” and queried “Are fags not put in jail?”

Lying on the ground and covered in blood, Kalinin was unable to answer the questions to me, – younger officer asked if he should call an ambulance while the other asked Kalinin’s sexual orientation. Kalinin was taken to neuro-traumatological department of Ezhvinsky area. The duty doctor examined me, stated the fracture of the nasal bridge, four wounds on my head and numerous bruises, contusions of the face. After the hospital I went to the police department of Syktyvkar. In a taxi I called the police phone line “02?. I was interested in only one question: “Where at the moment is the attacker?” A duty officer simply stunned me: “We filed a protocol on the young man, and then he was released”.

Kalinin, now terrified that his life is in serious danger as the man knows where he lives, believing he is the target of a call to “kill Fags” by a neo Nazi group ”Rubezh Severa” openly calling to “crush faggots like shit”, on their website, This incident is coinciding with the call by Russian LGBT activists such as Kalinin for a “Week Against Homophobia.” “Even if it is not people from “Rubezh SeveraI would like to appeal to the authorities. How long will you tolerate in inciting violence against the LGBT community? “ says Kalinin in a plea to authorities.

“I now feel strong social pressure on all that is happening in our city. These acts of violence occurring in the country, outraged by not only the LGBT community in Russia, but also a lot of heterosexuals. I ask the government finally to take up a pack of neo-Nazi, operating in the Komi Republic in the guise of orthodoxy and the idea of monarchy. I will continue to work on political and human rights-based field for LGBT people, despite all disadvantages. I ask that the LGBT people of the republic to stop hiding – as far as circumstances allow you to come together.”

Kalinin expressed concern that chief editor of “ProGorod” Natalia Beshkareva or journalist Denis Sasin, who by coincidence, two days before the incident, as previously stated by newspaper “Red Flag” was also threatened by Alex Kolegov.

April 26, 2011 – On Top Magazine

11
Moscow OKs First Gay Pride March

by On Top Magazine Staff
Moscow authorities on Tuesday agreed to allow for the first time a Gay Pride march to proceed, The Moscow News reported. Gay rights activists were jubilant at the news. “This is a crippling blow to Russian homophobia on all counts,” Nikolai Alexeyev, head of Moscow Pride, said. The former administration of Yury Luzhkov banned such events for the past five years and aggressively shut down any unauthorized demonstrations. Last January, Luzhkov vowed to “crack down” on gay pride parades.

“For several years, Moscow has experienced unprecedented pressure to conduct a gay pride parade, which cannot be called anything but a Satanic act,” Luzhkov said. “We have prevented such a parade and we will not allow it in the future. Everyone needs to accept this as an axiom.”

“It is high time to crack down on the parade with all the power and justice of the law, instead of talking about human rights,” he added.

During two separate events last year, gay rights activists defied authorities and marched for greater rights. About 25 people carrying banners and shouting “No discrimination on the grounds of orientation” marched for about 10 minutes on The Arbat, a shop-lined street popular with tourists visiting Moscow. Later in the day, activists, including British gay rights advocate Peter Tatchell, unfurled a 20-meter long rainbow flag in northwestern Moscow and chanted “Russia without homophobes!”

In 2009, a few demonstrators gathered near Moscow State University where they chanted “Homophobia is the shame of Russia!” and “Equal rights for everyone!” They were quickly surrounded by police who violently arrested the protesters. This year’s authorized May 28 march will take place between 1PM and 3PM at Bolotnaya Ploshchad. The administration of Mayor Sergei Sobyanin did not comment on the reasons for the reversal.

May 14, 2011 – UK Gay News

12
Nationalists Threaten to Disrupt a Gay ‘Flashmob’ on Tuesday in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg (Gay Russia) – A St Petersburg-based nationalist group said yesterday that they intend to disrupt a ‘Rainbow flashmob’ action scheduled to take place on Tuesday of next week to mark the celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia. The Rainbow flashmob action takes place every May 17 in St Petersburg and consists of a march in the streets of the city, with participants carrying balloons. No formal application to the city authorities tostage the annual is made. “In St. Petersburg, the ‘Russian Imperial Movement’ will hold a rally against gays, lesbians and paedophiles” says the press release issued by the organisation.

The anti-gay rally, which is authorised by the city authorities, will take place in the city centre at Nekrasovskiy Garden, near the Oktyabrskiy Concert Hall on May 17 from 7pm to 8pm. The organisers said they will call for “immediate punishment of deviants and the judges who let them go free.” St Petersburg’s second gay pride is planned for June 25. Last year’s Pride was banned by the City Hall, but a group of 20 LGBT activists decided to defy the ban and marched near the Hermitage museum. Five participants were arrested and briefly detained.

Later, three local courts ruled against the decision of the City authorities to ban the Pride events.

May 16, 2011 – UK Gay News

13
Seventy-Years-Old Grandmother Requests Gay Pride Permit in Moscow

Moscow (Gay Russia) – A seventy-years-old grandmother turned up at Moscow City Hall this morning to lodge three applications with the Mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, for Moscow Gay Pride which is being held at the end of the month. “For five years I’ve been watching how the [previous] Moscow Mayor violated the laws and the Constitution of our country, forbidding peaceful public rallies and detaining peaceful demonstrators,” said Irina Alekseeva, the 70 year old mother of Pride organizer Nikolai Alekseev, as she left City Hall.“I’m tired of being an outside observer of all these events, and I decided to help LGBT people to exercise their right to freedom of assembly in Moscow. They are citizens of this country and should enjoy the same rights as other citizens.”

Pride organizers have asked for a parade route from Central Post Office in Myasnitskaya street to Lubyanka Square on Friday May 27 or on Saturday May 28. A third application requests that organisers hold a rally for up to 300 participants on May 28 in the park at the Revolution Square, opposite the Bolshoi Theatre. Since May 2006, the annual attempts to stage Gay Pride rallies in Moscow have always been banned by former Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov who was dismissed at the end of September last year. The applications lodged today comes after the European Court of Human Rights gave a final decision month ago in the case of Alekseyev [sic] vs Russia saying that Moscow Pride was banned in 2006, 2007 and 2008 contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights in 2006, 2007 & 2008.

On April 12, Pride organisers applied for permission to stage a cultural event. Local protocols say that an answer has to be given within 14 days. But nothing in writing has come from the authorities, though there was a verbal indication that approval would be given. This was subsequently strongly denied by the Moscow authorities. Gay Pride organisers said this morning that they would stage the event whatever the outcome from the authorities. “We will take to the streets regardless of city hall’s decision to authorise or ban the rally,” an activist told UK Gay News this afternoon.

Nikolai Alekseev praised the courage of his mother. “In Russia, where homophobia is widespread, many gays or lesbians do not have the same chance to have parents who accept their sexual orientation and who are even ready to fight together with them for their rights, I commend my mum’s determination in helping us in our fight. I hope that this will be an example for many in this country, and help the parents of LGBT people to think twice before rejecting their children because of their sexual orientation.”

Mr. Alekseev added that there would be immediate court challenges if Moscow City Hall banned Gay Pride events.

May 17, 2011 – UK Gay News

14
Russian Government Marks IDAHO by Announcing Moscow Pride Is Banned! – But activists vow to go ahead anyway

Moscow (GayRussia) – With timing best described as “impeccable”, Moscow City Hall announced this morning that Moscow Gay Pride on May 28 is banned. Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The reasons given by the deputy mayor of Moscow, Ludmila Shvetsova, is because of “the impossibility to provide security” – and a high number of letters of protests received by the City Hall against this event.

“The reasons for banning the Moscow Pride this year are exactly the same reasons used in the past years – and for which the European Court of Human Rights judged against Russia for violating the European Convention on Human Rights, Pride chief organiser Nikolai Alekseev. Russia has decided to mark the Day Against Homophobia by showing, once again, its homophobic policy towards its LGBT citizens."

He revealed that an application would now be made directly to the Russian President. “We will apply today to President Dmitri Medvedev for permission to hold our Gay Pride March next to Kremlin, an area which is solely within his jurisdiction. The ban does not change anything to our intention to hold our rally as planned,” he insisted, adding that if anything untoward happens on May 28 the responsibility will lie with the “the illegal and irresponsible decision” taken at Moscow City Hall. “Today, we realised that former homophobic Mayor Luzhkov has a successor at the City Hall,” Mr. Alekseev added.

The Gay Pride rally was scheduled to be held in Bolotnaya Square, in front of the Office of the European Commission.

May 17, 2011 – Uk Gay News

15
Russian Gay Activists Issue Their ‘Hall of Shame List’ of Homophobic Officials – Plea for EU travel ban on 487 politicians, leaders of organisations and judges

Moscow – Russian Gay activists marked the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) by publishing a list of homophobic statements made since 2005 by politicians, officials, public figures, organisations. The ‘Hall of Shame’ list catalogues the hate speech against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people by 487 Russian politicians, officials and public figures, judges, 19 governments and 40 parties, movements and organizations The list, published today on GayRussia, is a joint initiative by ‘Article 282’, a group campaigning against hate speech towards sexual minorities and named after the article of the criminal code which criminalise hate speech against social groups, and the LGBT Human Rights Project GayRussia.

To date, no Russian Court has accepted a complaint by LGBT activists in a case of hate speech, refusing to consider gay or lesbians as a ‘social group’. Making the list are a staggering 100 Russian judges, from the lowest to the highest courts, including those from the Constitutional Court, who, in the last six years, gave decisions against the rights of gays and lesbians which are enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights – a convention that Russia signed up to when it joined the Council of Europe immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“Often, when you think about notorious Russian homophobes, the former Mayor of Moscow is the name which everyone can think of, but he is like the tree hiding the forest,” Nikolai Baev,a director of ‘Article 282’ and a co-organiser of Moscow Gay Pride, told UK Gay News. “It is important to underline that homophobia in Russian politics hits all the political movements without exception: from far left to far right, "

It is very common for government officials and politicians to consider gays, lesbians and transgender people as monsters, degenerate, criminals, immoral and mentally ill.

“Every day, we browsed the leading Russian mass media, Internet publishing, the sites of political parties and movements.”

“Unfortunately, we have opened a horrifying picture of homophobic prejudices prevailing among the various political trends in Russia: from left to extreme right, from liberals to nationalist.”

The publication of the ‘Hall of Shame’ comes on the sixth anniversary of Gay Russia.

“Simultaneously to the publication of the list, we have written to [The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs] Catherine Ashton, the President of the European Parliament and the LGBT intergroup of the European Parliament asking them to initiate a visa ban on those who do not respect the international convention ratified by Russia,

“The visa ban is a very effective remedy against Russian personalities who like to travel all across Europe,” Mr. Alekseev pointed out

“Homophobia and transphobia has penetrated all the levels of the public life in Russia and if we do not try to stop it, the rolling effect can create irreversible consequences in this country,” he suggested.

Among others, the database lists statements by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, the ruling party United Russia, the Communist Party, the office of the General Prosecutor and the Ministry of Defence.

28 May 2011 – PinkNews

16
Updated: Dan Choi and other gay rights activists arrested during Moscow Pride violence

by James Park
Moscow police have arrested and detained a number of prominent gay rights activists including the openly gay US solider Dan Choi as homophobic violence broke out during the banned Moscow Pride march near to the Kremlin. A large group of gay rights activists including the British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchel waved rainbow flags and carried signs reading “Russia is not Iran” were attacked by ultra-Orthodox campaigners who gathered to disturb the march, banned for the sixth year by the Moscow authorities.

Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia’s ban of Moscow Pride in 2006, 2007 and 2008 breached the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Russia is a singatory due to its membership of the Council of Europe. The court forced Russia to pay damages to the organisers. Last month, it was reported that Moscow City Council had given approval for a gay pride march to be held legally for the first time. However, this was quickly reversed and yesterday, police warned gay rights activists that they would break up the pride march. Today, eye witnesses statements and videos posted onto YouTube show that police violently arrested both gay rights campaigners and neo-Nazis. In the videos, police are shown violently wrestlying activists and neo-Nazis to the ground before leading them off in handcuffs to waiting security vans.

Among those detained include the US gay rights activist Dan Choi, famous for chaining himself to the White House in protest at the US military’s former ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ ban on openly gay service personnel. Others arrested include Andy Thayer and French campaigner Louis-George Tin. British campaigner Peter Tatchell manage to wrestle himself free from police and escaped their capture. In the past he has been badly beaten and punched by violent police officers. “I went to City Hall but was separated from our protest group. Neo-Nazis identified me for attack. Being alone and without police protection, I had to escape down side streets and alleyways to avoid a beating,” he wrote in a posting on Facebook.

Dan Choi posted on Twitter that one of his fellow detainees, a neo-Nazi said “we will kick your ass, f*ck you Faggot” to him prior to their arrest. Choi who posted photographs of his time inside a Moscow police station has reported that foreigners will be released by the police, while Russians will be detained overnight. “Anna Komarova, who is under arrest, reports being pressured by the police to give information about the organisation of Moscow Gay Pride. The police are threatening to detain her for 48 hours unless she gives them the information they want,” Mr Tatchell wrote.

Mr Tatchell told AFP that he believes that some of the Neo-Nazis who fought with gay rights activists were undercover police officers. He said that he saw coaches outside the police station “which were packed with people who looked like skinheads and neo-Nazis. But they were police buses. “Our suspicion is that they were police officers in civilian clothes. We suspect that a sizeable portion of the neo-Nazis were actually undercover police officers.”

Orthodox group member Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich told AFP: “We have come here to prevent this event from happening,” said as scuffles raged around him. God burned down Sodom and Gomorrah and he will burn down Moscow too if we let things like this happen.”

May 29, 2011 – Peter Tatchell Foundation

17
Moscow police collude with neo-Nazis against gays

"We witnessed a high level of fraternisation and collusion between neo-Nazis and the Moscow police. I saw neo-Nazis leave and re-enter police buses parked on Tverskaya Street by City Hall," reports British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who was part of the Moscow Gay Pride protest group on Saturday 28 May 2011. "Russian TV presenter on channel ‘TV-Centre’, Olga Bakushinskaya, blogged that she also saw right-wing extremists at City Hall sitting in police buses and liaising openly with the riot police, the Omon.

"Either the police were actively facilitating the right-wing extremists with transport to the protest or many of the neo-Nazis were actually plainclothes police officers. They did to us what their uniformed colleagues dared not do in front of the world’s media: give many of us a good beating. During the Second World War, Mucovites fought the Nazi onslaught. Now the Mayor of Moscow is colluding with neo-Nazis. He gave neo-Nazi groups permission to stage a protest calling for violence against gay people, while denying Moscow Gay Pride a permit to rally for gay equality. This is a shameful betrayal of Moscow’s proud anti-fascist traditions.

"I went to City Hall to protest but was separated from our Moscow Gay Pride group. Neo-Nazis identified me for attack. Being alone and with the police refusing to protect us, I had to escape down alleyways to avoid a beating. I was not arrested. By banning Moscow Gay Pride, Russia has defied a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that it must be allowed to proceed. Some of us now plan to press the Council of Europe to suspend Russia’s right to vote in the Council’s parliamentary assembly. Russia must not be permitted to defy the European Court with impunity.

"Prior to the staging of Moscow Gay Pride, the ban was condemned by the Council of Europe’s Secretary-General, Thorbjorn Jagland, and its Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg. Our protest was about more than gay equality. We were also defending the right of all Russians to freedom of expression and peaceful protest. We express our support for every Russian person whose right to protest has been denied. As well as demanding gay human rights, we demand human rights for all Russia’s minorities, including Jewish, Black, Roma, Asian and Muslim people. A total of 18 gay rights protesters – 15 of them Russian – were arrested, as they tried to stage the banned Moscow Gay Pride parade on Saturday. All were roughly manhandled by the police. Some were homophobically abused by officers.

"One Moscow Gay Pride participant was so badly beaten that she remains injured in Botkin hospital. Journalist Elena Kostyuchenko, of Novoya Gazeta, attended in solidarity with gay Russians. She was badly beaten by Russian religious and nationalists fanatics and is expected to stay in hospital for several days. Some of the Moscow Gay Pride participants were seized by police near the Kremlin, including three international gay rights supporters, Andy Thayer and Lt Dan Choi from the US, and Louis-Georges Tin from France; plus Moscow Gay Pride committee member, Anna Komarova and other Russian gay activists. Anna was forced to ground by police and kicked in the head. The rest of the arrested Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) campaigners were grabbed by police outside City Hall after unfurling rainbow flags and placards calling for gay human rights.

"Lt. Dan Choi, a US military officer who was dismissed from the American armed forces because of his homosexuality, was violently wrestled to the ground by the police and then punched and kicked. Louis-Georges Tin, the French founder and President of the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) Committee was also mistreated by the police. I was aggressively arrested and taken to a police van where I was put in solitary confinement in a small metal cupboard-like cell. It was dark, hot and suffocating inside. I could hardly breathe. I was locked in there for one hour. The police repeatedly called me a "fucking faggot" and other insults in Russian. Lt. Dan Choi was also placed in solitary confinement in the police van.

"The only two protesters subjected to solitary confinement were non-white: Louis-Georges Tin and Lt Dan Choi. It smacks of racism. Neo-Nazis made repeated attempts to bash the LGBT campaigners as they were being arrested and taken to police buses. Some of the campaigners were struck but none were hurt seriously. Following her arrest, Anna Komarova was pressured by the police to give information about the organisation of Moscow Gay Pride. The police threatened to detain her for 48 hours unless she gave them the information they wanted. She refused and was eventually released after being issued with a fine. By 6pm Moscow time on Saturday, all 18 arrested gay pride protesters had been released. Neither of the Moscow Gay Pride lead organisers, Nikolai Alekseev nor Nikolai Baev, were arrested. Mr Alekseev did not participate in the protests, as he had a bad leg injury from a fall as he left Moscow TV studios on Thursday night," said Mr Tatchell

Gay Russia News & Reports 2011 Jan-May

Search

Countries

GlobalGayz: The Book

Life and Death in a Global Gay World

by Richard A. Ammon

True Stores and In-Person Interviews From a Hundred Countries From Persecution to Pride From Australia to Zambia

ADS