Nothing changes under the Kremlin. Just a month away from Moscow's hosting of Eurovision Song Contest (where contestants are being urged to speak out on GLBT issues), gay pride organizers Nikolay Bayev and Irina Fet were found guilty of "popularizing homosexuality among minors and the court ruled to fine them 1,500 rubles [about USD$50] each," reports Interfax. Last month they organized a public demonstration with posters reading "Homosexuality is normal" and "I am proud of my homosexuality"; a judge ordered the posters destroyed, issuing his decision from a court in Ryazan, identified as the only region in Russia where a law that bans discussing homosexuality with minors is enforced. And this is just the lead up to Moscow's gay pride march on May 16, which will not proceed if Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has his way. Luzhkov has, year-after-year, refused to grant a marching license to organizers — except Moscow Pride already has "seven cases already pending before the European Court of Human Rights," notes MosNews. "The latest was filed against President Dmitry Medvedev. The others involve Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov." Of course, we've been down a similar road before.
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Russia is such a ghastly hellhole for gays. (And most other people it seems)
And that murdering little shit Putin encourages his thugs to intimidate, beat up or murder anyone or disagrees with him.
Russia is not a country that runs under a rule of law it is a country that runs quite nakedly under a Big Chief system. What the local or national powerful man says, goes! 'Democracy' has been destroyed by that little anal pustule Putin, even though he lies and says Russia is democratic.
And often judges can receive phone calls from local Big Chiefs instructing what a particular verdict in a particular case will be.
Oh and this gay oppression and intimidation is despite it being very well known that Putin has quite a passion for pre-pubescent boys.
It was after accusing Putin of being overly fond of pre-teen boys that Alexander Litvinenko, a former colonel in the Russian secret service, was murdered in London.
This is why we should ban all immigration from Russia to the West with the exception of Jews and Gays. Keep that eurotrash back where it belongs!
Not quite down the same road. This year the "pride parade" is supposed to take place on the day of Eurovision final. Do I need to tell anyone how gay Eurovision is?
Russia is NOT a hellhole for gays! Ha! It's about comparable to most smaller European cities with a thriving gay community. I lived there for many years with my Russian partner and have many many gay russian friends who wouldn't live anywhere else. Don't believe everything you read on these political sites – question the facts at all times.
@Vaytcha:
So are you denying the facts of the story? Are you saying, in summary, that bayev and fet weren't fined for "popularizing homosexuality among minors"? Russia's a paradise for gays…and everyone else… Limping to the IMF.
@kevin (not that one):
Interesting proposal.
I suppose the Mahican, the Beothuk. and the Iroquois Confederacy would have been better off too if they had kept the eurotrash out.
(and I expect a good number of people in Africa might have been thankful for their actions, too)
Might be hard to enforce that policy nowadays though.
What sort of screening program would you recommend for immigration hearings?
This year's Eurovision is soon, and Putin's thugs have said they will not permit a gay pride demonstration to occur during the song contest.
And our own dear Peter Tatchell has just announced he will be going in solidarity with the russian gays.
Looks like the gays will be attacked again.
What will happen then? Since the contest is run by gays, has a lot of gay contestants, and the BBC coverage will be handled by gay Graham Norton – will the contest be cancelled, will the gays from abroad all refuse to participate and just leave?
Mayor Yury Luzhkov is a HERO you mentally defective freaks.
"Gay Pride". Yeah right! Proud of what, f**king the shit out of assholes?
You must have shit for brains as well!