Gay pride event banned by homophobic Moscow mayor

By Adam Lake • April 24, 2008 - 10:50

The Mayor has referred to gay rights marches as "satanic"

4 Comments on Gay pride event banned by homophobic Moscow mayor

The homophobic Mayor of Moscow has banned this years gay pride event.

The Mayor, who has referred to gay rights marches as "satanic" has outlawed the march which was due to take place next week.

The move comes amidst a growing number of violent threats from members of the orthodox church and far right groups.

However, a number of gay rights activists are insisting on holding a variety of events over the coming weeks, highlighting the homophobia that Russia's LGBT community are subjected to.

Moscow Pride was banned by the city's Mayor in 2006 and in 2007.

There has been an increasing amount of global publicity concerning the persecution of Moscow's LGBT community and the prejudice that the community are receiving from their homophobic Mayor. A spokesmen from his office said:

"It is a matter of surprise and indignation that gays plan to carry out
unsanctioned gatherings in various parts of Moscow during the Festival of
Peace and Work"

An unsanctioned parade on May 27 last year, the anniversary of the abolition
of a Soviet law that criminalized homosexuality, ended with
ultra-nationalists throwing eggs and punching and kicking gay activists

Last year a number of gay protesters including Peter Tatchell and Right Said Fred singer Richard Fairbrass, were physically attacked by a homophobic mob.

The British Film Institute recently screened a film about Moscow's LGBT community and their gay pride event.

The documentary film East-West: Sex Politics by director Jochen Hick was screened as part of the Gay and Lesbian film festival.

It premiered in the Berlin International Film Festival in February and follows some LGBT people in Moscow around the Moscow Pride events.

East/West: Sex Politics is described as an "in-depth account of the attempts to mount a Gay Pride parade in Moscow in 2006 and 2007.

"This film offers a chilling reminder of the fragile state of the rights of sexual minorities in Russia," pride organiser Nikolai Alekseev told PinkNews.co.uk

At a press conference on February 1, 2007, former Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked for his opinion on homosexuality in the midst of a row over the decision by Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov to ban a gay rights parade in Moscow.

Putin said, "With regards to what the heads of regions say, I normally try not to comment. I don’t think it is my business.

Support for gay marriage in Russia is at 14%

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