Gay parades in different parts of the world. Traveling with children

The annual gay pride parade took place in Stockholm on Saturday. Since 1998, the first Saturday in August has been dedicated to a march for the LGBT community.
Thousands of people gathered for this procession.
Everything would have been as usual this year, if not for one coincidence. On the same day, the right-wing organization EDL (European Defense League) held its rally, which meant simultaneous demonstrations by left-wing radicals.

First things first. The Stockholm Gay Festival lasts a week and ends with a big parade on Saturday. Parade participants form columns and move in an organized manner along a pre-designated route. All parties represented in parliament, with the exception of the nationalist Swedish Democrats, were fielded in a separate column. A party of pirates was also spotted. In addition, there were columns of firefighters, police officers, doctors, teachers, athletes, students, schoolchildren... People who witnessed the May Day demonstrations can continue the list themselves. And of course, freaks-perverts, an integral attribute of any gay pride parade.
Motorcyclists open the parade. This year, especially many requests were addressed to Russia.

Honestly, I didn't crop this photo. I laughed myself when I looked at the footage. I addressed the guy in Russian, but he didn’t understand me. This is probably why everything is written in uppercase and not lowercase and there is only one exclamation point! Screw the EDL, which we'll talk about a little later.

Column of the youth branch of RFSL (Riksförbundet för homosexuellas, bisexuellas och transpersoners rättigheter - Swedish Federation for LGBT Rights).

Spectators.

Rare gays. In general, I got the impression that most of the participants are women, and average age- school.

Parade participants willingly took photographs and gave interviews.

Rugby players.

Hobbits are gay.

Moderaterna - "Moderate coalition party", one of the largest in the Swedish parliament. In the last elections, led by the current Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, took 30%.

False mustaches were popular among girls that day.

Feminists.

Well, obviously a cunning old wolf in sheep's clothing snuck in on such pretty lesbians :)

The scale of the event.

Of course, there were also outright freaks, who usually belong in semi-legal BDSM basements.

Now let's talk about the second event, just a couple of kilometers from the gay pride route, an EDL rally, which was sent to hell by numerous posters in the parade.
EDL - Enhlish Defense League (English Defense League), an anti-Islamic organization that became a political development of street protests in Luton, England in 2009, as a reaction to local Islamist organizations protesting the British presence in Afghanistan. Now similar movements are appearing in many European countries, forming national defense leagues for example in Norway, Finland, Germany, Poland, etc. The meeting in Stockholm is the second action of the united European Defense League, an attempt to bring all national organizations together.
The EDL, among others, cooperates with SIOE (Stop Islamization of Europe) and SIOA (Stop Islamization of America). The latter was founded in 2010 and attracted attention with protests against the construction of a 13-story Islamic center two blocks from the World War II towers that fell on September 11. shopping center.
In European means mass media the organization is characterized as right-wing, extremist and racist. The EDL itself describes its mission as countering Islamic extremism, advocates open political dialogue on the causes and measures to counter Islamic extremism, and demands an investigation into the involvement of mosques in supporting terrorism. Full list one and two (in English).
I approach Norra Bantorget, the announced venue for the event. What I see? A crowd of aggressive youth, people in black clothes with masks covering their faces, a large number of police. Stones are thrown from the crowd and firecrackers explode at the police. Well, I think I’ve arrived at my destination, here it is, a speech by the fascists. But in practice it turned out that these were left-wing anti-fascists who tried to break through the police cordon to the EDL.

It was very interesting to see how the Swedish police work in such situations. As the crowd's aggression grew, the police pushed the leftists further and further away from the square. They worked hard, but with maximum restraint, that is, they didn’t wave the baton left and right, but they didn’t stand on ceremony either. If the policeman told you to sit down, then it was useless to argue with him and prove anything; if you decided to detain him, then this is inevitable.

At some point, after a series of firecrackers, an organized group of young people dressed in black and with their faces covered decided to break through the cordon.

The crowd moves towards the line of mounted police.

The German capital hosted a traditional parade of representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation. " Fair game for diversity" was the motto of the 33rd Christopher Street Day (CSD), which took place the day before the start of the Women's World Cup in Germany. The main message of the event was directed against homophobia in sports. To look at A colorful and spectacular parade, on Saturday, June 25, about 700 thousand people gathered on the streets of Berlin.

Unfortunately, it is difficult for Russian people to understand and accept gay pride parades. In Russia, any actions by activists of the LGBT movement are quite harshly suppressed by the police and activists of some religious and nationalist organizations. Despite its international obligations Russian authorities do not coordinate any actions in support of gay people. The official position of the Russian authorities is based on the fact that gay pride parades could be unsafe and contradict the “religious doctrine of the majority of the country’s population.” Read about how the gay pride parade took place in Berlin and why it was needed at all in today’s post.

01. I arrived in Berlin early in the morning. Before the parade, I was invited by activists from the “Quarter” organization to show how the Russian-speaking group was preparing for the procession.

02. Activists prepared posters.

03. Breakfast.

04. Belarusians slightly modified the rainbow flag.

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07. The history of Christopher Street Day began on June 27, 1969 in New York, when representatives of sexual minorities openly opposed discrimination on Christopher Street. Since then, gay pride parades have taken place in the summer in many cities around the world.

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10. Everything is ready.

11. We rode to the meeting place in the subway with posters. People looked at the slogans with interest. I wonder how many stops they would travel on the Moscow metro?

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13. Climbed the victory column to watch the parade from above. This panorama shows that the procession stretched for several kilometers.

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16. Truck of the Christian Democratic Union (Merkel's party).

17. The procession, consisting of 54 floats, was once again led this year by Berlin's ruling burgomaster Klaus Wowereit, who walked in the parade in a tracksuit, accompanied by his partner Jörn Kubicki. As before, homophobia remains a problem in various spheres of public life, and this phenomenon must be fought against, Wowereit emphasized.

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19. In general, the trucks were boring and uninteresting. Almost no one decorated them.

20. U Russian group There were posters with photographs of the dispersal of the Moscow protest on May 28.

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25. Gay Pride is a big city carnival. Not only gays and lesbians take part in it; most of the participants are people of quite traditional orientation.

26. The gay parade is not about gays, it is a celebration of the diversity of people, so that people do not shy away from something unusual.

27. It’s like Halloween was invented for children so that they would not be afraid of devils and the dead. Gays are devils.

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45. By the way, Russia has had experience of holding gay pride parades. In Yekaterinburg, with the support of the city administration, from 2001 to 2005, “love parades” were held, which many media called gay pride parades due to the presence of a large number of homosexuals at them. These events were interrupted in 2006 due to the scandal surrounding the Moscow Gay Pride.

46. In Moscow in May 2006, the Rainbow Without Borders festival was supposed to take place, but it was disrupted due to threats from extremist groups who staged a series of pogroms and beatings. It later turned out that the same groups carried out a terrorist attack on the Cherkizovsky market a few months later.

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50. Many people mistakenly believe that gays promote something at parades. This is wrong. Gays at the parade do not promote anything. It is impossible to promote homosexuality. Is it possible that if you are a normal heterosexual man, did you become attracted to a man after viewing these photos?

51. Gay parades or gay prides do not promote homosexuality, but a tolerant attitude towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people (LGBT), as well as respect for human rights and civil equality for all people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

52. Homosexuality is not inherited. In an ordinary heterosexual family, a homosexual child may appear. And no upbringing affects this. Sex education for children is a separate topic, I don’t think that you will discuss details with your child even about heterosexuality, but if the child is initially homosexual, then it is very important not to let him feel that he is defective, otherwise he may develop psychological problems. The percentage of homosexuals in society is approximately constant. People of non-traditional orientation have been and will always be. It cannot be cured, and most importantly it cannot be infected.

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54. Tolerance or death!

55. As I already said, the procession was more like a carnival. There were a lot of people simply in costumes that had nothing to do with gay themes.

56. Homophobia, xenophobia and so on cannot be eradicated; it is easier to instill tolerance. In England, the Home Office (MVD) for a long time The slogan was "Building a Safe, Just and Tolerant Society" - "We are building a safe, just and tolerant society."

57. There will never be a full-fledged parade in Russia, there is too much anger.

58. "I know what I'm doing"

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60. In parallel with the Berlin parade, which was attended by about 700 thousand people as if it were a city holiday, for the most part heterosexuals, and which passed without incident (even the police kept order by dancing to Lady Gaga), a demonstration for gay rights took place in St. Petersburg. 30 people gathered at the prohibited rally in front of the monument to Peter the Great, who cut a window to Europe 300 years ago, holding signs reading “Hophobia is a shame for the country.” But as soon as the activists unfurled their flags and slogans, the police twirled them. At the police station, one of the demonstrators was beaten. Last Thursday in Moscow, activists of the Rainbow Association and a journalist from Novaya Gazeta were arrested at single anti-homophobic pickets.
newspapers" Elena Kostyuchenko. The Russian police not only do not condemn homophobia, but actively promote it.

61. After the parade in Berlin, a protest demonstration took place in front of the Russian embassy. About a hundred people from the association of Russian-speaking LGBT people and their
Friends in Germany Querteera, from the German Gay and Lesbian Union, from the Moscow Rainbow Association, as well as participants in the Belarusian gay pride parade and the “green” politician Volker Beck condemned homophobic lawlessness and violence. Demonstrators chanted “Homophobia is a shame for Russia.” After which each one picked up one huge black and white portraits Russian activists, among whom were the arrested organizers of the St. Petersburg march, Yuri Gavrikov and Alexander Sheremetyev.

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Personally, I don't see anything wrong with people dressing up and having fun once a year. It’s clear that no one walks the streets like this in normal times. I strongly advise people who think that there is something disgusting in the pictures presented in this report to attend some Russian holiday. For example, Airborne Forces Day, or Border Guard Day, you can have the last call or graduation party for schoolchildren, or you can simply go to any metro station after midnight. I assure you, there is much more filth and obscenity there than at the gay pride parade.

But you don't have to worry. You are unlikely to see this on the streets of our cities in the near future. In our country there are only military parades. All actions in support of gay people are suppressed by the authorities. Russia needs to make up its mind. Either comply with your Constitution and laws and coordinate gay pride parades, or terminate your membership with the Council of Europe and others international organizations and introduce criminal liability for sodomy, as was the case before 1993. You can go even further and, following the example of Uganda, try to introduce death penalty for homosexuality. Then, on completely legal grounds, you can feed gays to crocodiles and no one will blame you for it.

The official position of the Russian authorities is based on the fact that gay pride parades could be unsafe and contradict the “religious doctrine of the majority of the country’s population.” But democracy does not mean that the majority's opinion must always prevail. Instead of ensuring the safety of the parade, the authorities are following the lead of religious and nationalist organizations, which have repeatedly threatened the march participants.

The state must respect and protect the rights of all its citizens. If 10 gays want to hold their own action in the center of Moscow, then they have every right to do so. And the government must do everything to ensure their safety.

In our country, it is still completely normal for a man to hit a girl on the head just because she loves another girl. Let me remind you that on May 28 in Moscow, Elena Kostyuchenko was hit in the head by one of the Orthodox activists. Earlier, several publications published her appeal to the public under the title “Why am I going to the gay pride parade today.” The appeal substantiated the demands for equal rights for gays and lesbians. The journalist was hospitalized with a suspected concussion. The Orthodox activist did not bear any responsibility for his actions.

We have a political observer for RIA Novosti, Nikolai Troitsky, writes in his blog (

Moscow Gay Pride logo Slavic Gay Pride logo

Gay pride parades Gay parade) or gay prides (eng. Gay pride) are public mass demonstrations in support of tolerant attitudes towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people (LGBT), as well as human rights and civil equality for all people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In Russia, gay parades are usually called any public events of gays and lesbians, even if the organizers themselves do not call their events a “parade.” Gay parades are considered to be both the actual human rights socio-political actions of the gay pride movement (pickets, rallies, processions), and other public social events of the LGBT community (flash mobs, pickets, etc.), and sometimes even simply entertainment shows and events. Despite significant differences in the form, nature and goals of these events, often all of them are equally called “gay parades” by the press and authorities, often contrary to the statements of the organizers and participants themselves[edit. 1][approx. 2].

Lively discussions on the part of representatives of the authorities, the press, society as a whole, as well as the attention of the world community, aroused the human rights actions of the Moscow Gay Pride, which since May 2006 have been annually held in Moscow by the human rights project GayRussia. Ru. In 2008, the Moscow Gay Pride movement united with Belarusian LGBT activists, establishing the joint Slavic Gay Pride, whose events take place in Moscow and Minsk. In 2010, LGBT activists from St. Petersburg joined the Russian gay pride movement, announcing the preparation of the St. Petersburg LGBT Pride.

Gay pride concept

Main articles: Gay Pride, Gay pride (term)

Action goals

“The point of holding such a parade is to show that gays exist, that gays are people too, and that they have the right to freedom of expression.”

Nikolay Alekseev, “Echo of Moscow”, 2005

Gay pride or gay pride in the world community has historically been viewed as an action in support of tolerance and protection of LGBT rights. Gay pride parades are traditionally held in many countries around the world in the summer, most often in June, in memory of the Stonewall riots, when thousands of gays and lesbians protested against police brutality, which became one of the symbols of the beginning of the struggle of sexual minorities for civil rights.

The term "pride", translated as "pride", implies resistance and protest against the idea of inferiority, humiliation and shame in connection with homosexual orientation, similar to protests against racist discrimination. In the past, anti-racial activists in the United States proclaimed the slogan: “I am black and I am proud of it!” (English) “I am black and I am proud!”). In a similar way and gay activists argue that being gay is not humiliating. For example, the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, became famous for his election saying: “I am a gay, but it’s OK!”, that is: “I’m gay, but that’s okay!”

Russian gay activists, who advocate reproducing the foreign experience of gay pride events in Russia, insist on the human rights significance of the gay pride parade. Thus, the leader of the GayRussia organization Nikolai Alekseev, after the first statement of intention to hold a gay pride in 2006, said:

“The action will not be a carnival, which is usually held in Europe, but a human rights march aimed against homophobia and discrimination against sexual minorities.” "No naked people There will be no provocative clothes, it will be a procession in the classical sense of the word, only the flags will be rainbow - six colors, symbolizing the gay community. We will seek from the authorities a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation not only at the everyday level, but also in the labor sphere.”

Currently, on the website of the St. Petersburg LGBT Pride (LGBT organization “Equality”) the goals of the gay pride are stated:

“We really need a parade. Whether it is a parade, a rally or a demonstration is not important. The main thing is to openly demand equal rights for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. To speak openly means to demonstrate to society and the state the existence of a whole complex of legal, social, economic problems in our country, the impossibility of living an open, full life due to ignorance, irrational fears, prejudices and neglect towards us; declare the inadmissibility of silencing our problems. Only if all our rights are guaranteed can we live in dignity.”

Terminology in Russia and abroad

The terminology of public gay protests differs in Russia and abroad. In Russia, “gay pride” has become a popular and almost universally used name for events, although gay activists themselves prefer to use the term “gay pride.” In Western countries, various terms may be used to describe public gay events, however, the most commonly used term for gay events in Russia is “gay pride.” This term, in relation to attempts to hold gay pride parades in Russia, is also used in international documents: in particular, in the documents of the European Parliament and in the decision of the ECHR in the case “Alekseev v. Russia”. Thus, in the said decision of the ECHR it is said:

“In 2006, the applicant, together with other people, organized a march to draw attention to discrimination against the minority of gays and lesbians in Russia, respect for human rights and freedoms and to call for tolerance on the part of the Russian authorities and society as a whole towards this minority. That year the procession was called “Pride Procession”, and in subsequent years - “Gay Pride”, by analogy with similar events of homosexual communities in major cities Worldwide".

However, further in the same document media reports with statements by representatives of the Russian authorities are quoted, where the same actions are called the term “gay parade”. Thus, in international documents the terms “gay parade” and “gay pride” in Russia are synonymous.

Gay pride events

Background

In the early 1990s, in the wake of the liberalization of public discourse, the Russian LGBT movement intensified. In particular, film festivals and mass public performances began to be organized.

Day national flag in Moscow in 1998, he was noted for his participation in the official column and concert on Vasilyevsky Spusk of the platform of sexual minorities

In Yekaterinburg, with the support of the city administration, from 2001 to 2005, “love parades” were held, which many media called gay pride parades due to the presence of a large number of homosexuals at them. These events were interrupted in 2006 due to the scandal surrounding the Moscow Gay Pride.

The Rainbow Without Borders festival was supposed to take place in Moscow in May 2006, but it was disrupted due to threats from extremist groups who staged a series of pogroms and beatings. It later turned out that the same groups carried out a terrorist attack on the Cherkizovsky market a few months later.

In St. Petersburg on May 27, 2006, as part of the “City Day”, the “Love Parade” show was held, organized by the club « Central Station» with the permission of the city administration. On the site in front of the Catholic Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria (Nevsky Prospekt, 32-34) a stage was installed where, according to the parish administration, “dirty and vulgar dances were held throughout the evening with the participation of naked women and transvestites, offending not only the feelings of the believers who came to the service , but also all the decent townspeople who came to the holiday with their children.” Representatives of the church where the mass was disrupted filed a complaint against the organizers with the prosecutor's office.

Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, former Ordinary of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, commenting on what happened, said: “I am shocked by what happened in St. Petersburg. Not only is immorality being promoted, but the rights of believers are also openly trampled upon. In the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and on religious associations“ it is said: “Holding public events that offend the religious feelings of citizens near objects of religious veneration is prohibited” (Article 3, paragraph 6).

Representatives of the Central Station club, whom the media announced as “the organizers of the gay pride parade,” said that their club only provided its artists from the drag queen troupe to perform, and they themselves were upset by the choice of venue for the event. They also announced their intention to send an official letter of apology to the Catholic parish. The club especially noted that “the action could not have the character of a gay pride parade, since although representatives of sexual minorities were, perhaps, among the spectators of the show, the bulk of those who came to the holiday were still “ordinary” townspeople.” Representatives of the LGBT community also confirmed their non-involvement in the event.”

Various human rights and educational events, such as the Week against Homophobia, the Day of Silence, and the Rainbow Flash Mob, are regularly held by the Russian LGBT Network. Similar actions held in St. Petersburg by the LGBT organization “Coming Out” received widespread press coverage.

Gay Pride 2006

Arrest of participants in an unauthorized rally in 2006

At the beginning of 2006, activists of the GayRussia project announced their intention to hold the first gay pride event and sent an application for this to the Moscow administration. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov decided to ban the rally.

Gay pride ban

On March 16, 2006, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s decision to ban gay pride was supported by Patriarch Alexy II, who published a letter on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexy II, in particular, stated: “I would like to thank you for your decision to prevent public propaganda of immorality... Treating people with similar inclinations with pastoral responsibility and calling them to correction, the Church at the same time resolutely opposes attempts to present a sinful tendency as a “norm” and an example to follow.”

The court rejected a complaint filed by activists of the Russian gay movement against the actions of the Moscow authorities, who twice refused requests to hold a gay pride parade in Moscow in 2006.

The organizers planned the event for May 27 (the day the criminal liability for homosexuality was abolished in the Russian Federation). The protesters intended to walk along Myasnitskaya Street from the Main Post Office building to the Solovetsky Stone on Lubyanka Square.

City officials banned the event, citing safety concerns. The heads of some religious denominations spoke out against the gay rally. According to a survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation, the decision to ban the gay pride parade in Moscow was approved by 77% of respondents. Moreover, among those who condemn homosexuals, the share of those who approved the ban is 92%, and among those who do not condemn them - 65%. 9% of respondents considered the ban on the gay pride parade to be wrong.

Attempt to hold a gay march

On May 27, 2006, the group organizing the gay pride parade in Moscow, for which it was unable to obtain permission from the city authorities, announced that its participants would still try to lay flowers at the Eternal Flame in the Alexander Garden, as well as hold a picket at the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky . The march participants were, however, dispersed and partially detained by the police.

International implications

During the unsanctioned gay rally, several foreigners were beaten: Bundestag deputy Volker Beck, French Green Party representative Pierre Serne and Austrian activist Kurt Krickler.

On June 1, 2006, the German Foreign Ministry began investigating the beating of Bundestag deputy Volker Beck by Russian nationalists during a prohibited gay rally. The German government made it clear that the use of violence against Beck could have political consequences for Russia.

Vice-chairman of the CDU/CSU faction Andreas Schockenhoff reproached Beck for the fact that “with his participation in the demonstration he violated the rules of the game in Russia.” The next day, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU/CSU) issued an official statement expressing regret over the attack on Beck. Merkel stressed that “Mr. Schockenhoff also regrets his statement and will certainly apologize.”

The Russian Embassy in Berlin was picketed by representatives of sexual minorities in Germany, accusing the Russian authorities of violating human rights.

Gay Pride 2007

Attack on gay activist Peter Tatchell Main article: Attempt to hold a gay pride parade in Moscow (2007)

On May 27, 2007, another attempt was made to hold a parade in Moscow near the Moscow government building. It was suppressed by the police, riot police and Orthodox nationalist organizations.

The action was attended by German parliamentarian Volker Beck, members of the European Parliament from the Transnational Radical Party Marco Capatto and the Communist Revival Party Vladimir Luxuria (who is transsexual), and British activist Peter Tatchell. MEP Marco Capatto was kicked. He was arrested when he tried to turn to the police for protection. Peter Tatchell and Nikolai Alekseev were also arrested. Peter Tatchell and Folken Beck were hit in the face. Peter Tatchell subsequently said: “The police were nearby but did nothing. Eventually they got closer. I was arrested, while my attackers were released." He claims police abused him before he was sent to hospital

Articles covering the events were published in major Western media: The Guardian, International Herald Tribune, Washington Post, Reuters, The Sydney Morning Herald

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, protested the attack on the protesters. The mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, expressed regret over the incident. Italian politicians (in particular, former ministers in the government of Silvio Berlusconi Rocco Buttiglione and Stefania Prestigiacomo, Italian Foreign Trade Minister Emma Bonino, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema) sharply criticized the attack on Italian deputies. The leader of the major party of the center-left government coalition, Left Democrats, Piero Fassino, described the episode as “an unacceptable manifestation of homophobia.” On June 15, 2007, the London City Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the ban on the gay pride parade in Moscow.

Gay Pride 2008

Picket by gay activists in 2008

On June 1, 2008, the day of the next announced march, nationalists and believers gathered on Tverskaya to express their protest. However, gay activists unexpectedly appeared in a completely different place: about 40 people marched from the Tchaikovsky monument along the entire Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. At the same time, on Tverskaya, a large poster was hung from the windows of one of the residential buildings, opposite the city hall: “Rights for gays and lesbians! Mayor Luzhkov’s homophobia will be brought to justice.” None of the gay activists were detained.

Gay Pride 2009

On May 16, 2009, a human rights event “Slavic Gay Pride” was held in Moscow on the day of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. The event, which was held in the form of a picket, was dispersed by the police.

Gay Pride 2010

Moscow Gay Pride event in 2010

On May 29, 2010, two events were held simultaneously aimed at protecting the rights of sexual minorities.

An Equality March took place on Old Arbat, organized by an organizing committee that included the Left Socialist Action movement, the Russian section of the Committee for a Workers' International, anarchists, feminists and the working group on LGBT rights of the Moscow city branch of the united democratic movement "Solidarity". About 30 people took part in the action. The main slogans of the action were “Gays for equal rights without compromise!”, “Fight for profit!” Down with homophobia!” “LGBT people have no time for carnival, we need equal rights”, “Officials need privileges, we need equal rights”, “A threat to childhood is discrimination against young mothers”, “We are ordinary parents, not molesters.”

On the same day, the fifth anniversary gay pride took place, in which about 50 people took part. LGBT activists carried a large rainbow flag along the street.

Verdict of the European Court of Human Rights

Nikolay Alekseev at the European Court of Human Rights on February 25, 2010

Each time after the Moscow authorities refused to approve the gay pride demonstration, gay activists protested this decision in the courts, successively moving from lower to higher, after which the complaints were sent to the European Court of Human Rights. The official complainant of these complaints was gay activist Nikolai Alekseev. On September 17, 2009, the ECHR combined complaints about the ban on gay pride parades in Moscow in 2006, 2007 and 2008 into one proceeding under the heading Alekseyev v Russia - “Alekseyev v Russia” (Complaints No. 4916/07, 25924/08 and 14599/09 ). The complaints were referred by the European Court of Human Rights to the Russian government, which was obliged to answer the questions put to it by the European Court.

This case concerns a ban on 163 public events and alleges a violation of Articles 11, 13 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECtHR decided to consider the admissibility and merits of the case simultaneously, and its statement of facts highlighted homophobic statements made by Moscow government officials.

On October 21, 2010, the ECHR declared the ban on gay pride parades in Moscow illegal. The applicant was represented in the case by D. Bartenev, a lawyer practicing in St. Petersburg. The interests of the Russian government were represented by G. Matyushkin, Commissioner of the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights. The Court's verdict included, in particular, the following justifications.

The court stated that the dispersal of ongoing gay pride demonstrations constitutes an interference in the exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly. The Court emphasized that democracy is the only political model provided for in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Regarding the characteristics of a “democratic society”, the Court emphasized the particular importance of pluralism, tolerance and free thought. In this context, the Court states that:

“Although individual interests must sometimes be subordinated to the interests of the group, democracy does not simply mean that the views of the majority must always prevail: a balance must be struck that ensures fair and proper treatment of minorities and avoids any abuse of a dominant position.”

The court indicated that the state is the guarantor of the principle of pluralism. This State obligation “is of particular importance for persons holding unpopular views or belonging to minorities, as they are more susceptible to persecution.”

The Court emphasized that freedom of assembly protects a demonstration that is likely to annoy or offend persons opposed to the ideas or causes it seeks to promote. The Court stated that participants must be able to demonstrate without fear of being subjected to physical violence from their opponents, and it is the duty of states that have signed the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to take appropriate measures to ensure the peaceful nature of lawful demonstrations.

Regarding statements calling for violence and inciting hostility towards participants in a public event (such as a statement by a Muslim mufti from Nizhny Novgorod, who stated that homosexuals should be stoned to death), the Court stated that "these issues could be properly resolved by bringing the persons concerned to justice." However, the Court notes, “it does not appear that the authorities in this case responded to the priest's call for violence in any way other than by banning the event he condemned. By using such blatantly illegal calls as a basis for a ban, the authorities were in effect sanctioning the intentions of individuals and organizations who clearly and deliberately intended to disrupt a peaceful demonstration in violation of law and public order.” The court stated that:

“If any possibility of tension and irritated exchanges between opposing groups during a demonstration were a reason for prohibiting it, the public would be deprived of the opportunity to hear differing points of view on any issue that offends the sensibilities of majority opinion.” And “it would be inconsistent with the fundamental values of the Convention if the condition for a minority group to exercise the rights enshrined in the Convention was its acceptance by the majority.”

The court also noted that the mayor of Moscow had repeatedly expressed his determination to prevent gay pride parades and similar events from taking place, as he considered their holding inappropriate. The Moscow government also indicated in its comments that such events should be prohibited in principle, since, according to city hall officials, “homosexual propaganda” is incompatible with the religious doctrines and moral values of the majority, and can be harmful to children and vulnerable adults. The Court noted that these reasons do not constitute grounds for banning or otherwise restricting a public event under national law.

The Court recalled that the guarantees of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms apply to all assemblies, except those in which the organizers and participants express intent to commit violent acts or otherwise deny the foundations of a “democratic society.” The court stated that:

“Any measures that interfere with freedom of assembly and expression, except in cases of incitement to violence or rejection of democratic principles - no matter how shocking and unacceptable individual views or statements may seem to the authorities - are detrimental to democracy and are often even dangerous to it.” .

The mayor of Moscow believed it was necessary to limit any mention of homosexuality to the sphere of private life and expel gays and lesbians from public life, meaning that homosexuality is the result of a conscious and antisocial choice. To this assertion the Court responded:

“The Court has no scientific evidence or sociological data to show that the mere mention of homosexuality or open public debate about social status sexual minorities will negatively impact children or vulnerable adults. On the contrary, only through impartial and public discussion can society decide such difficult questions, like those raised in the present case. This discussion, supported scientific research, would have a positive impact on social cohesion by ensuring that all views are heard, including the people concerned. It would also clear up some controversial points, such as whether a person can be nurtured or drawn into or out of homosexuality, or choose or reject it voluntarily. This is precisely the kind of discussion that the applicant in the present case sought to initiate and cannot be replaced by any spontaneously expressed, limited views of officials which they consider popular. In such circumstances, the Court can only conclude that the authorities’ decisions to prohibit the activities in question were not based on an acceptable assessment of all the relevant facts.”

As a result of the consideration of the case, the Court concluded that the decisions of the authorities to ban gay pride events did not correspond to urgent social needs and were not necessary in a democratic society. The court found that the main reason for the ban on these events was the authorities' disagreement with the demonstrations, which they considered “propaganda of homosexuality.” The court, in particular, noted that it could not ignore the strong personal beliefs expressed publicly by the mayor of Moscow and the undeniable connection between these statements and the ban. In the light of these findings, the Court finds it established that the applicant was discriminated against on the basis of his sexual orientation and the sexual orientation of other participants in the planned events.

As a result of the consideration of the case by the European Court of Human Rights, a decision was made on the merits: a violation of Articles 11 (right to freedom of assembly), 14 (prohibition of discrimination) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The total amount of compensation to be paid to the applicant is 29 thousand euros.

On January 21, 2011, Russian representatives in the European Court of Human Rights appealed this decision to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR.

On April 11, 2011, the ECHR finally declared the ban on gay pride parades in Moscow illegal and upheld the above verdict.

Gay Pride 2011

On May 17, 2011, Moscow authorities again refused to allow the Russian gay community to approve a public event on Bolotnaya Square May 28.

Dispersal of the gay pride parade

On May 28, 2011, gay activists attempted to hold a parade in two places: on Manezhnaya and Tverskaya squares. According to media reports, about 350 people gathered in these places, including 230 journalists. At the same time, activists of the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers gathered. Some of them held homophobic posters in their hands and chanted slogans calling for attacks on protesters. The head of the Union of Banner Bearers L. D. Simonovic-Niksic publicly tore up the portrait of openly gay Elton John. Activists of the All-Russian People's Militia named after Minin and Pozharsky were also seen among those gathered.

The pride parade was suppressed by riot police. More than 60 people were detained. According to media reports, many nationalists helped the riot police carry out the detention as volunteers. Among those detained were three foreign citizens, well-known gay activists: Americans Dan Choi (English) Russian. and Andy Thayer, as well as the Frenchman Louis-Georges Ten - the initiator International Day fight against homophobia. Dan Choi addressed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with a demand to condemn the actions of the Russian authorities against representatives of sexual minorities.

A huge resonance in the media was caused by reports of the beating of Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Kostyuchenko, who was hit in the head by one of the Orthodox activists. Earlier, several publications published her appeal to the public under the title “Why am I going to the gay pride parade today.” The appeal substantiated the demands for equal rights for gays and lesbians. The journalist was hospitalized with a suspected concussion, but at the hospital she was diagnosed with barotrauma.

In this regard, a publication appeared on one of the major Orthodox portals, Orthodoxy and Peace, calling for “immediate and unequivocal dissociation from any lawless, and, especially, violent actions against gay activists.” The author states: “I remain a strong opponent of gay pride parades and the promotion of homosexual behavior in general; and I fully believe that we all simply need to unequivocally disassociate ourselves from the hooligans who beat people up on the streets. It’s especially disgusting when a man beats a woman.”

Chapter Synodal Department on relations between the Church and society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, in an interview with the Interfax agency, expressed regret about the beatings that took place. However, in his opinion, the protest of Orthodox believers against the gay pride “was basically completely peaceful.” He expressed gratitude to the authorities and the police for “very correctly preventing the action of homosexual propagandists,” and expressed hope that in the future the authorities in such cases will “listen to the voice own people, the majority of which clearly do not accept the propaganda of homosexuality, and not to the external pressure that existed before the action and continues now.”

International reaction

The US State Department expressed "concern that a peaceful demonstration by Russians supporting gay and lesbian rights, joined by supporters from other countries, was forcefully dispersed by their opponents, and that Russian law enforcement detained people from both groups."

The French Foreign Ministry recalled the need to respect freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. “France recalls its condemnation of violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in whatever country they occur,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a communiqué.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjörn Jagland, regretted the clashes “between activists of the gay movement and nationalist extremists,” and that “the police were unable to prevent these clashes.” “The right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, enshrined in Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, belongs to everyone without any discrimination, and law enforcement authorities have a duty to protect peaceful protesters.” “The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that gay pride parades are allowed. And therefore I call on all interested parties in Russia to participate in a responsible and constructive dialogue on freedom of assembly and association so that this right and public safety are fully ensured,” he said.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to “strictly tie” the building of partnerships with Russia to the issue of human rights. Of particular concern to European deputies are the most acute problems rights of sexual minorities in Russia, including the ban on the gay pride march in Moscow for the sixth year in a row.

Complaint to the ECHR

On May 2, 2012, Nikolai Alekseev, on his own behalf and on behalf of his mother Irina Alekseeva, filed a complaint with the ECHR regarding the Moscow authorities’ ban on the gay pride parade in 2011.

Gay Pride 2012

On May 14, 2012, an application was submitted to the capital’s mayor’s office to hold a gay pride event scheduled for May 27. Distinctive feature This application was that it directly indicated the organizers’ readiness to change the location and time of the event to any that would be proposed by the metropolitan government. The Moscow authorities refused to approve the event, citing the fact that “this action causes a negative reaction from society and is a provocation that causes moral harm.” The organizers of the action said that they would appeal the refusal of the Moscow authorities to hold the event in the Tverskoy Court of Moscow. They confirmed their intention to hold a rally on May 27 in the center of Moscow in any case.

On July 4-5, 2012, reports appeared that a public action in defense of LGBT rights had been officially agreed upon in St. Petersburg, which the media called “the first permitted gay parade in Russia” or “the first gay pride in Russia.” The document, a copy of which was presented by the organizer of the action, Yuri Gavrikov, to the RIA Novosti agency, states: “The purpose of the event: to attract the attention of society and the authorities to violations of civil rights against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, the need to legislate the ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation.” .

Opinions

Controversies within the Russian LGBT community

The attitude within the Russian LGBT community towards the idea of holding a gay pride event is ambiguous. Since attempts to hold a gay pride began, the Russian LGBT community has been split into two camps - opponents and supporters of this action in Russia. Opponents of the action believe that Russian society is not yet “ripe” to reproduce foreign experience. Thus, eight LGBT organizations in Russia spoke out against gay pride in Moscow in the summer of 2006. In a special address, they called the parade a “provocation.” For these actions they were harshly criticized by other parts of the gay community. Disputes on these topics in the Russian LGBT community practically do not stop.

The Russian LGBT Network is traditionally considered an opponent of the GayRussia project's initiative to hold gay pride events in Russia. In April 2010, its leader Igor Kochetkov (Petrov) voiced its position in an interview with Gazeta. He noted that regarding the need for visibility and openness, “the Russian LGBT Network and GayRussia. Ru“ there are no disagreements.” However, in his opinion, the organizers of the gay pride “did not fully explain the goals of the event,” and “immediately in the media... pictures from European and American carnivals were presented and promoted, and, in fact, the organizers of the gay pride parades were accused of that they want to do the same." Fundamental disagreements were expressed as follows: “...When our manifestations lead to the fact that society is divided into supporters and opponents, then this takes us away from the goal that LGBT activists face, it takes us away from the goal of being understood.” However, at the same time, the head of the Russian LGBT Network emphasized: “...I think that if someone wants to hold pride events in exactly this form, in the form of a march in defense of human rights, against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, then they, they certainly have the right to do so. And the state is obliged to protect this kind of processions and actions, like any other, say, peaceful street actions - this is written in the constitution.”

On May 30, 2011, after the events of the dispersal of the gay pride demonstration, the Russian LGBT Network issued a statement condemning violence against participants in the demonstration. The statement condemned the violation of the rights of demonstrators, as well as the inaction of the authorities in connection with calls for violence from “official representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, other religious and public organizations and individuals.” The problem of violence against LGBT people in society as a whole was voiced. It is noted that: “An open discussion in society about the problems of the LGBT community inevitably leads to a clash of opposing, and often hostile, opinions. The state should not take the side of those who seek to destroy or silence opponents at any cost. Responsible government authorities must mediate public debate, ensuring that everyone equal right to express one’s point of view and contribute to the transformation of confrontation into a civilized dialogue.”

Criticism

One of the protesters against the gay pride parade

Objections to gay pride in Russia were expressed by government officials and a number of public and religious figures.

Objections from public figures

From the very beginning of attempts to hold a Pride and throughout the entire time until his resignation, the former mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, resolutely opposed the actions.

Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Culture, Education, Health and Environment Viktor Shudegov stated: “in in this case, the Moscow authorities acted absolutely correctly... If there are such deviations, then let people live with them, but do not put them on public display.”

Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Federation Affairs and Regional Policy Rafgat Altynbaev said that “nature gives birth to different people. But there is no need to show off your deviations. For the younger, rising generation, this gay pride parade will not do anything good, because you need to strive for beauty, for the beautiful, and not stick out your deviations.”

“No one deprives homosexuals of the right to live the way they want, and with whomever they want, so there is no need to meddle in society and promote your way of life,” said Alexander Khinshtein, a member of the State Duma Security Committee.

Many of those who adhere to traditional views on public morality have a negative attitude towards the statement that homosexual orientation is not a deviation from the norm, but only an innate feature of the individual that cannot be changed. They consider marches and festivals of sexual minorities an attempt to promote and impose on society an alien way of life. Due to the existence of such opposition, “pride parades” are usually accompanied by counter protests from supporters of the traditional social order.

On September 12, 2006, the conclusion of an expert group studying the legality of gay pride parades in Russia appeared. The conclusion stated that “Gay parades have nothing to do with the protection of human rights and freedoms, are not a form of protest against discrimination... but are a sophisticated, cynical means of aggressive, intrusive propaganda of homosexuality as a normal and prestigious way of life... propaganda carried out in including for commercial purposes"; in addition, it was pointed out that it is illegal to use the term “homophobia” in relation to opponents of gay pride parades.

The organizer of the gay pride in Moscow, Nikolai Alekseev, called these statements “PR on the idea of a gay pride” by doctors and experts, “whose names no one has ever heard.” Nikolay Alekseev said:

“If problems with PR are still excusable for doctors of legal sciences, then problems with the law are clearly not. The final point in the matter of the legality of gay pride parades in Moscow will be put by the court, if necessary the European Court of Human Rights, and then we will learn the true value of the expert opinions voiced on Tuesday in Moscow. I think that court decisions will not be in favor of pseudo-lawyers.”

After the resignation of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, his successor Sergei Sobyanin took a position against gay pride events in Moscow. He initially voiced this position in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station on February 16, 2011. To the question “When will gay pride parades be allowed?” he replied: “Yes, I have my own attitude to this. Moscow absolutely does not need this and I am not a supporter of this.”

One of the many representatives of government bodies who demanded that gay pride not be allowed to take place after the decision of the ECHR in 2011 was the chairman of the Moscow City Duma commission on healthcare and public health protection, Lyudmila Stebenkova. In her opinion, the subsequent decision of the city authorities to refuse the application of gay activists also fits into the framework of international law. “According to the definition of the European Court, the state has the right to decide to cancel an event that it regards as harmful to public health,” the deputy told Gazeta.ru. Ru".

Representatives of the ultranationalist Russian Imperial Movement and the Union of Russian Paratroopers announced their sharply negative attitude towards gay pride and even their intention to take part in its dispersal. “I have an extremely negative attitude towards the parade,” said P. Popovskikh, Chairman of the Central Council of the Union of Russian Paratroopers. “We will help the border guards throw rotten eggs at this “gathering.” And this is the most minimal means of influence.”

After the decision of the ECHR, the most radical nationalists stated that “participation in the processes of European integration, presented as a triumph of Russian diplomacy, poses, among other things, a threat to the sovereignty, national security and identity of our country,” “with its decision, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg tried to force Russia to carry out such called "gay pride parades". Without a doubt, such a verdict calls into question the sovereignty of our country and, in theory, should serve as a reason for Russia to leave this organization.”

Objections from representatives of religion

Protests in 2006

The main religious organizations in Russia opposed the Moscow gay pride parade. A characteristic statement was made on February 14, 2006 by the Supreme Mufti of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims (TSDUM) of Russia, Talgat Tadzhuddin, in connection with the planned preparations for a festival and parade of sexual minorities in Moscow: “Representatives of sexual minorities can do whatever they want, only at home or somewhere in a secluded place in the dark... If they do go out into the street, then they should only be beaten. All normal people will do this” (quoted from an article in the Kommersant newspaper dated February 15, 2006). Words of indignation about this were heard in the Russian press. Some gays and human rights activists are outraged that after these calls for violence, the mufti went unpunished, and his words did not cause the proper resonance in society.

Conservative Jews and some Protestant denominations also opposed the gay pride parade. In particular, the chairman of the Russian United Union of Christians of the Evangelical Faith, Sergei Ryakhovsky, stated: “If the announced gay parade does take place in Moscow, thousands of evangelical believers will be ready to take to the streets to protest... We are ready together with the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Jews and Muslims to apply for an alternative demonstration in defense of morality.”

Protests after the ECHR decision

Objections and protests against gay pride parades have been voiced by representatives of religion throughout the entire period since 2006. However, the most acute reaction on this topic was caused by the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights, which recognized that LGBT citizens have the same right to self-expression and freedom of assembly as others, and the Russian authorities violate their rights with their bans. A number of official representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and individual Orthodox organizations expressed their disagreement with the verdict. Some of these examples are presented below.

Archbishop of Vladivostok and Primorsky Veniamin, in his Christmas sermon in 2011, called for combating gay pride parades:

“Let us be wise, we will not allow anything unclean and immoral in the lives of our families, our society, our Russian home: no drug addiction, no gay parades, no juvenile justice, no sin of sodomy. Let this one New Year will be the year of our deep repentance, spiritual cleansing, general transformation, the year of expulsion from our land of all enemies and traitors of our beloved Fatherland and Orthodoxy. We do not need any overseas ideals for life; Russia has its own idea and its own ideal - Christ. Therefore, let the Masonic stars disappear from the Russian sky and the star of Bethlehem will shine again over Holy Russia...”

The head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper on March 24, 2011, said that the gay parades that take place in Paris and Berlin violate the rights of believers who live in these “once Christian” cities. On April 5, 2011, in a speech to delegations from the American Israel Public Relations Committee on behalf of the church, he deplored the “holding of sexual minority ‘pride parades’ in the Holy City [Jerusalem],” which he felt ignored the feelings of the faithful. “We are convinced that only traditional morality can be a strong support for the existence of society and relations between people,” he stated..

On April 13, 2011, a meeting of the Interreligious Council of Russia took place in Moscow. The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the head of the administration of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims M. Tadzhuddin, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia Kh. Saubyanov, Chief Rabbi of Russia A. Shaevich, Chairman of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations of Russia Z. Kogan and others. The Interreligious Council issued a “Statement in connection with the satisfaction by the European Court of Human Rights of the complaint against the ban on the parade of “sexual minorities” in Moscow.”

The document states: “Believers traditional religions Russia was saddened to learn that on October 21, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the appeal of representatives of “sexual minorities,” finding the ban on their demonstration in Moscow a violation of our country’s international obligations.” The authors of the document spoke “in defense of the rights of the absolute majority who consider homosexuality to be a sin or a vice and do not want people to have the opposite point of view imposed on them through public actions, the media, education, “legal” or political decisions.” Participants of the Interreligious Council called on state bodies and public organizations to “start searching for a legal regime of relations with the Council of Europe that would exclude Russia from implementing the decisions of this organization if they encroach on the conscience and offend the moral feelings of the majority of our fellow citizens.”

The head of the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, on April 27, 2011, in an interview with the Interfax-Religion portal, expressed the hope that the Moscow leadership will not allow homosexuals to hold a gay pride parade. He expressed the opinion that if to abolish gay pride events “you need to change international legal norms, then you need to change them.” According to a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, the issue of holding a gay pride parade in Moscow is “a test of the independence and consistency of Russian politics.”

The famous Orthodox missionary Hegumen Sergius (Rybko), rector of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles at the Lazarevskoye cemetery, on May 3, 2011, in an interview with the NGO Portal about the possibility of holding a gay pride, said:

“Referring to other countries where such events are allowed is stupid. There are Papuans walking around naked in the Amazon. Why don’t we go naked? Let them walk like that too: put a ring on their nose and off they go. We have our own culture, our own mentality, a civilization that does not accept these things. “I bless everyone who wants to come out to disperse this parade, and I am ready to answer for this before the law.”

On May 5, 2011, the coordinator of the Union of Orthodox Banner Bearers, Yuri Ageshchev, in an interview with Gazeta, stated that members of his organization intend to come out during the gay pride parade to disperse it and said that they had already had a similar experience in the past.

The head of the Synodal Information Department, Vladimir Legoyda, on May 5, 2011, live on the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station, called the gay pride parade “propaganda of the lifestyle of sexual minorities” and expressed hope that the Moscow authorities, as before, will not allow it to be held.

The head of the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, spoke in Moscow at a rally against gay pride and called on Russians to tell the world about the inadmissibility of “propaganda of perversions.” Regarding the refusal of the Moscow authorities at that time to gay activists to approve their action, he stated that “we defeated those who tried to organize a procession of people promoting homosexuality in this square, contrary to the will of the people.”

Support

Support in Russia

The statement of the Governor of the Kirov Region Nikita Belykh, made on the radio station “Echo of Moscow” on March 23, 2009, caused a great resonance in the press. When asked about the possibility of holding a gay pride event, he replied: “In principle, of course, it is possible.” Further, regarding the disagreement of religious representatives with this, he continued:

“I am a very tolerant person, I can advise the clergy not to participate in this event. Well, how else? We have a very strange society. We are intolerant of sexual minorities and people of Caucasian nationality, but we forgive and even encourage alcoholics, parasites and others, considering that this is sort of normal. I believe that everyone really has rights here. They are spelled out in the Constitution. And you either comply with the Constitution, or you accept it, which determines you as a citizen of this country, or not. That’s all, there can’t be any disagreement here.”

To others politician Alexei Melnikov, a member of the Yabloko party and former deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 1st-3rd convocations, directly spoke out in support of holding gay pride in Russia. He expressed his position in a publication on the website of the Ekho Moskvy radio station on January 18, 2010, saying that not only gay pride parades should be allowed in Russia, but also same-sex marriages and the adoption of children by same-sex families.

Disagreement with the statement of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin that Moscow does not need gay pride events was expressed by the oldest Russian human rights activists Lyudmila Alekseeva and Lev Ponomarev in an interview with the Interfax agency on February 17, 2011.

The head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseeva, said:

“I don’t know why the Moscow authorities don’t like representatives of sexual minorities, why they are afraid of them, and ban gay pride parades. What does it mean - Moscow doesn’t need this? There is a Constitution, Russia’s international obligations, they must be respected.”

The leader of the movement “For Human Rights” Lev Ponomarev said that he was alarmed by the statement of the mayor of Moscow about the inadmissibility of gay parades in the capital:

“This indicates that a policy will be pursued to suppress mass actions. If one group of citizens can be suppressed, then any other group will be suppressed. Holding peaceful rallies and marches is the constitutional right of citizens.”

Lyudmila Alekseeva also, together with the head of the Russian branch of the human rights organization Amnesty International, Sergei Nikitin, criticized the Moscow mayor's office after the official ban on the Pride demonstration in May 2011.

The representative of the government of the Russian Federation in the Constitutional, Supreme and Supreme Arbitration Courts, Mikhail Barshchevsky, in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio on April 26, 2011, regarding the gay pride event, said: “I see no reason to prohibit it, either legally or from the point of view of human rights.” At the same time, he described his personal position: “I’m 50/50 regarding gay pride parades.”

Vice Speaker of the State Duma, leader of the LDPR party Vladimir Zhirinovsky, in an interview with the Russian News Service on May 17, 2011, sharply criticized the decision of the Moscow authorities to ban the gay pride demonstration:

“There are no problems anywhere in the world! They created a problem out of the blue. ... According to the constitution, everyone has the right to carry out any actions. The authorities are admitting their weakness and Bolshevism. We have proletarian power. At least a witch, at least Satan will get his act together! There is a constitution! Freedom for all citizens of the Russian Federation!”

The leader of the St. Petersburg department of the Yabloko party, Maxim Reznik, took part in a political debate on April 1, 2011, where one of the two topics was devoted to the rights of homosexuals. In his speech, he stated that “for the Yabloko party, the priority is to protect the rights of citizens, including gays.” During the discussion, he explained what, in his opinion, is the difference between gay pride and the “Russian March”: the first - gays and lesbians - take to the streets to defend their own rights and interests, and the second - nationalists - to lynch all strangers.

First Vice President of the Center for Strategic Development Modeling, political scientist Grigory Trofimchuk in an interview news agency“REX” on April 27, 2011 expressed the opinion that Russia is “an ordinary liberal-democratic country, the same as, for example, France or the USA,” and it will inevitably have all the attributes of liberal-democratic countries, including gay prides, and that “there is no need to be afraid of this.”

Candidate biological sciences, Professor at the Institute of Biological Sciences and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan, USA, Alexey Kondrashov, answering questions from readers of the major Orthodox website “Orthodoxy and the World” in the “Controversy” section, stated that the Russian Orthodox Church violates the rights of homosexuals by supporting bans on gay pride demonstrations. At the same time, the scientist agrees that the church has the right to express its views on homosexuality, but not to limit the civil rights of homosexuals:

“The expression of the views of the Russian Orthodox Church does not violate the rights of homosexuals, but the bans on gay pride parades supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, which place Moscow outside modern Europe, do.”

Writer, playwright and active participant in the feminist movement Maria Arbatova provides ongoing support for the GayRussia project, including the gay pride initiative.

Support abroad

Events surrounding attempts to hold gay pride events in Russia caused great resonance in the press abroad. Throughout the years since 2006, protests against protest bans and attacks on gay activists have been expressed by various politicians and human rights organizations abroad. The climax of this story was the conclusion of the European Court of Human Rights on the illegality of the stock bans. Among latest performances abroad (as of May 2011) the following can be named.

In the annual report of the British Foreign Office “Human Rights and Democracy 2010”, Russia was included in the list of countries where the human rights situation “is of greatest concern” (together with Belarus, Colombia, Cuba, 7 African and 15 Asian states, including Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) . The report emphasizes that bans on gay pride events are a violation of the right to freedom of assembly, and also constitute the practice of unlawful discrimination based on sexual orientation. The UK, the report states, is the only EU member country that has formalized a consultation process with Russia on human rights issues, at which issues of respect for the rights of sexual minorities were also reportedly raised.

The US State Department's report on human rights in Russia, published on the official website of the US foreign policy department on April 8, 2011, contains an entire chapter devoted to “insults, discrimination and acts of violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” The chapter lists the main facts of discrimination against LGBT citizens in Russia, where a lot of attention is paid to the narrative of attempts to hold gay pride events in Russia.

After another refusal to allow gay activists to hold a pride rally in 2011, the human rights organization Amnesty International called on the Moscow authorities to lift the ban. Director regional program Amnesty International Europe and Central Asia Officer Nicola Duckworth said:

“The Moscow mayor’s office must reverse its decision to ban the Moscow gay pride parade this year. So-called public moral concerns cannot justify restricting the freedom of expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. In such a situation, the right thing to do would be not to give in to such demands, but to ensure that people who want to legally exercise their rights have the opportunity to do so with dignity and in a safe environment.”

The American human rights organization Human Rights First made a similar statement.

In June 2012, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, at the level of deputy foreign ministers, condemned Russia's failure to comply with the ECHR ruling in the case of Alekseev v. Russia, expressing concern that “since the court ruling, the applicant has not had the opportunity to organize gay pride marches in Moscow.” .

“The action will not be a carnival, which is usually held in Europe, but a human rights march aimed against homophobia and discrimination against sexual minorities.” “There will be no naked people or provocative clothes, it will be a procession in the classical sense of the word, only the flags will be rainbow - six-colored, symbolizing the gay community. We will seek from the authorities a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation not only at the everyday level, but also in the labor sphere.”

Currently, on the website of the St. Petersburg LGBT Pride (LGBT organization “Equality”) the goals of the gay pride are stated:

“We really need a parade. Whether it is a parade, a rally or a demonstration is not important. The main thing is to openly demand equal rights for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. To speak openly means to demonstrate to society and the state the existence of a whole complex of legal, social, economic problems in our country, the impossibility of living an open, full life due to ignorance, irrational fears, prejudices and neglect towards us; declare the inadmissibility of silencing our problems. Only if all our rights are guaranteed can we live in dignity.”