Rabble-rousing Russian activist Nikolai Alekseev got some judicial coal for Christmas.

A Moscow judge said the gay pride organizer must face "slander" and "insult" charges for outing conservative politico Alexander Chuev. The televised statements are said to be the first outing of a Russian politician.

While Alekseev won't discuss details of the case, he promised to fight the case to the European Court of Human Rights. He also says it's well worth the trouble:

[Alekseev] said that he does not regret anything of what he did because “we reached the main goal of defeating Mr. Chuev in Duma elections in December”

Mr. Chuev failed to get 7% of votes for his Fair Russia party in Khabarovsk region where he headed the party list. Since December 24 he is no longer a deputy of the Duma.

Silver lining, baby!