LGBT activists in Moscow are living in the true spirit of Gay Pride this year, announcing that Moscow Pride and the gay pride march this Saturday will go on as planned despite a court-ordered ban on the festivities.
Nikolai Alekseev, co-founder of Moscow Pride and GayRussia, told Interfax last week that “Khimki City Court upheld the ban on the planned Gay Pride rally and march,” following a decision made by Moscow’s highest court last year that bans “homosexual propoganda” and gay pride parades in Moscow for the next century.
Alekseev said he would appeal the court’s decision to botch this year’s gay pride march, and even has the support of the Council of Europe, who demanded the Russian government guarantee LGBT people freedom of expression and demonstration.
Not surprisingly, Russian authorities haven’t budged.
“If me or someone else is killed or injured in Moscow Pride on Saturday,” he continued, “then the blood will also be on the hands of the Head of European Court of Human Rights and [its] judges.”
No word yet on how the Russian government plans to respond to the protest that will kick off Moscow Pride’s festivities, but participants have been advised of potential attacks from police and/or arrest.
Derek Williams
That’s the spirit! Keep on going.
Vartan X.
@Derek Williams: You are way to optimistic about Russia. Russia is as backwards and prejudiced as it has always been. Racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, homophobia, or any other “-ism” or “-phobia” are norm in Russia. That’s what one would expect from a country where half of population believes Stalin was a great leader, and the other half believes that Russian should be a country for white ethnic Russians only. As a minority, both sexual and ethnic, I feel blessed that I ditched that country years ago. Down with Russia!