One of the many international news sources I use for postings is GayRussia.ru.
In a June 30, 2009 posting, the website reported via Reuters that a planned visit to Russia, July 6 – 8 by President Obama, will be met with protests from the LGBT community in Moscow.
This in defiance of a ban against such a protest by governmental authorities.
According to the article which reads in part,
Gay rights activists in Moscow plan to ignore a ban and rally in favour of same-sex marriages when U.S. President Barack Obama visits next week, one of their leaders said on Monday.
In a statement, Nikolai Alexeyev said the Moscow authorities had banned a proposed demonstration outside the U.S.embassy next Tuesday, the second day of Obama’s July 6-8 trip.
“Moscow authorities have again violated the law by denying us the right to freedom of assembly,” Alexeyev said in a statement.
“We don’t intend to abandon our plans and in the near future we will determine the format of action on July 7 during the visit of Barack Obama in Russia.”
This of course won’t be the first time, if in fact the protest does come off, that LGBTs have stood their ground and acted against the overwhelming homophobia of the Russian government and in particular the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov .
In May during Eurovision which was held in Moscow, gay protesters including British LGBT activist and writer Peter Tachell ignored warnings by Moscow authorities and demonstrated, bringing the city government unwanted worldwide attention to its homophobia during beatings and arrests of demonstrators including Tachell.
While the Berlin Wall has come down, the old USSR has been dismantled and the Cold War has ended, The Lavender War continues.
The video below from Russia Today back in May 2007, could very well have the of date of May 2009 as nothing has changed for the LGBT community in Russia and with no change in sight on the horizon.
UPDATE: July 7, 2009
The protest was cancelled according to a new article at GayRussia.ru due to “safety concerns”.
