“A Russian woman in St Petersburg killed her drunk husband with a folding couch, Russian media reported on Wednesday. St Petersburg’s Channel Five said the man’s wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall… The man fell between the mattress and the back of the couch…” [Reuters]

“A Russian spa town has unveiled a monument to enema treatments in the guise of an 800-pound bronze syringe bulb held up by three angels. ‘There is no kitsch or obscenity,’ said the spa’s director, Alexander Kharchenko. ‘An enema is almost a symbol in our region.’” [NY Post]

“After illegal Gay Pride marches went ahead in Moscow earlier this month, homosexualist activists are condemning the Russian Orthodox Church for asserting Christian teaching on sexuality and suggesting that homosexual people do not have to live the ‘gay lifestyle’. One member of the Orthodox Church, Father Vsevolod Chaplin, recently said of homosexuals, in an interview with newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, ‘Such people are deeply unhappy’. ‘I know it from confessions and numerous life stories. It’s not by chance that they die earlier and there’re more suicides, drug addicts and alcoholics among them,’ he said.” [Virtue Online]

Not all of Russian’s gays are proud of this weekend’s clandestine pride.

Frighteningly plasticine singer Boris Moiseyev told a newspaper that while he thinks the nation’s gays should be able to march, the gays should basically back off: …Moiseyev doesn’t approve of Moscow gay pride parade organizers being so persistent in their desire to conduct a march in spite of the authorities ban and public protests. “If society doesn’t accept [gays], they shouldn’t insist.”

This sort of reminds us of when Rupert Everett “party-grazing cows” comment.

Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov may have banned the gay pride parade, but that didn’t stop some tenacious activists from make their voice heard. Well, sort of. Since they weren’t permitted to march down the street, the gays took a creative approach. And, yes, were met with protest: Campaigners were too afraid to protest on the street, so a small group instead hung a banner calling for tolerance from an apartment window opposite Mr Luzhkov’s offices.

As the four activists unfurled the banner, Orthodox priests on the street below denounced the “moral corruption” of homosexuality.

Their female followers, clutching crucifixes, threw eggs at the banner which was quickly pulled down by angry neighbors – to … Continued…

While Moscow’s mayor continues coming down on gay peopel, Russia’s health minister proved that progress still exists in the post-Soviet nation: “The Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development has repealed the ban on blood donations by homosexual people, it emerged last night. This move by the Russian authorities is a victory for the activists…who have fought the restrictions for more than two years.” [UK Gay News]

Gay activists in Russia had hoped to stage a protest against Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov on the International Day Against Homophobia, but a judge refused to give them the go ahead. The march would have called for prosecution against Luzhkov’s consistent bans on gay pride. Irony at its worst? [UK Gay News]

Russia saw a few gay dust-ups this weekend.

First, activists reported that men “dressed as rappers” attacked their inaugural Day of Silence celebration, kicking and beating them until coppers scared them off.

Then, in a nod to Soviet past, members of the so-called “Russian Vanguard,” gathered to protest gay singer Boris Moiseyev’s performance in Kaliningrad.

Again, coppers intervened, but that’s not stopping the Vanguard’s archaic demands…
Continued…

Russian gays have some balls!
Continued…

A gay taxi cab company may be ready to roll in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The private fleet will reportedly cost about 50-100 rubles more than straight cabs. Why? Because they’re divas. Not the articles use of “non-traditional sexual orientation,” just like Herbie. [Russia-IC]

Russian politico and Vladimir Putin pal Dmitry Medvedev won the national election this weekend. [MSNBC]

Russia’s forthcoming presidential election has at least one anti-gay player: “Young homophobic communist Pavel Tarasov, who 18 months ago infamously said that a “good faggot is a dead faggot”, has surfaced as a staffer for Communist presidential candidate Gennady Zyuganov.” [UK Gay News]

Finally, a Michael Lucas feud we can endorse! The pugnacious porn producer launched a fresh crusade today against - gasp! - himself!

Russian born Lucas sent out an open letter today questioning why one of his flicks, The Intern, won more GAYVN honors than another title, Gigolo. He complains that Gigolo received “raging” reviews and basically pleads that the GayVN’s recognize the penis-heavy piece as the masterpiece he perceives it to be. Be sure, however, that Lucas does not want to raise the comparative bar too high: My company has many questions about this situation. I do want to be clear: I am NOT comparing “Gigolo” to any other company’s work. I am making a simple comparison to this movie and “The Intern.” Even a retard wouldn’t make the mistake that “Gigolo” is on a totally different planet. It’s like comparing champagne to Coca-Cola, like comparing a diamond to a rock. What sort of rock? Something hard and craggy, we’re sure…

Read the entirely narcissistic conspiracy after the jump…
Continued…

Gay activists are again taking the Moscow city government to the European Court of Human Rights. The complaint - which asks for about $1.5 million in compensation - says Moscow officials violated the gays’ equal rights when they banned an annual gay pride celebration. The event went on anyway, with bloody results. This isn’t the first time Moscow’s faced such charges, of course - a similar 2006 lawsuit is still on the docket. [UK Gay News]

Russia’s gay activists know how to plan ahead! Despite official resistance, proud homos have set a date for their annual gay pride event: May 31st. Last year’s ended in blood and tears after protesters took out their anti-gay aggressions.

Let’s hope things don’t turn out so badly this go round.