'We're not hidg': Gay and lbian Rsians say a cultural shift is unrway

Contents:

• 'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY
• CHANGG PERCEPTNS OF WHAT IS LIKE TO BE GAY MOSW – ONE TOUR AT A TIME
• INSI THE IRON CLOSET: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY PUT'S RSIA
• ‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA
• EIGHT HORRIFIC AND UPLIFTG STORI ABOUT BEG GAY THE NEW RSIA
• THE FEAR OF BEG GAY RSIA
• SECRECY, DARK ROOMS, AND PATRTIC DRAG QUEENS: A GAY NIGHT OUT MOSW
• THE 5 BEST MOSW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS MOSW
• GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI
• WNS: BEATEN FOR BEG GAY RSIA - ANDREY’S STORY
• ON THE MOSW METRO AND BEG GAY

'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY

I’d like to break the stereotype and show my guts an credible si of the cy’s iendly LGBT life, wh s glamour, amazg drag shows, ol bars, hot men, ‘Rsian gay banyas [steam rooms]’ and more! By takg visors to some of Mosw’s most popular gay clubs, Alex says that he wants to change this perceptn wh tourists visg the pal cy.

Although data is hard to e by, Rsian human rights activists say there has been an crease the number of hate crim mted agast gay men particular sce the passg of a 2013 law to ban the spreadg of “propaganda for non-tradnal sexual relatns” to mors. Homosexualy was a crimal offence Rsia until 1993, classified as a mental disorr until 1999 and the fluence of the nservative Orthodox Church – the head of which reportedly pared marriage equaly laws to those enacted Nazi Germany – has also helped create an environment where the rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) Rsians are promised. In s 2017 LGBTI equaly x Rabow Europe, ILGA-Europe ranked Rsia as the send worst untry Europe (after Azerbaijan) for gay rights.

CHANGG PERCEPTNS OF WHAT IS LIKE TO BE GAY MOSW – ONE TOUR AT A TIME

A monument to the fallen Rsian soldiers of the battle for the siege of Plevna durg the Rso-Turkish War, the 1990s was also known as a hub for gay hook-ups, “when we didn’t have apps for that, ” Alex explas. We will see how thgs will turn durg the World Cup, ” he says while walkg up the street to Mono Bar, a trendy gay nightclub Mosw. While walkg towards Mono Bar, Alex explas why his tour has not been affected by Put’s anti-gay propaganda law.

Most recently, last month the gay health webse Parni Pl (Guys Pl) was blocked for “challengg fay valu”, as was the webse March. The ‘gay propaganda’ law is about fosterg tolerance, and changg the way society views some of s most vulnerable members, ” said the global anti-censorship work IFEX last year.

INSI THE IRON CLOSET: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY PUT'S RSIA

What is tly shockg, however, are the allegatns of the btal tentn, beatgs and torture of men perceived as gay or bisexual the southern Rsia republic of Chechnya, as tailed by a seri of 2017 reports published by the Rsian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. How n the poor treatment of gay people Rsia be a stereotype if such thgs still happen, we ask?

A rearch paper by Katja Sarajeva, who studied lbian spac the cy, observed that: “The gay clubs are populated by gay men and to a certa extent their heterosexual women iends which tends to make lbians visible even wh homosexual spac. “If entreprenrs assume that gay men are terted party[g], drk[g] and sex they n easily translate this to a somewhat profable bs.

” She said that is assumed that women, particularly gay women, are terted thgs “such as poetry, drkg tea and ts”. They were tryg to ply wh a 2013 Rsian law that bans exposg mors to anythg that uld be nsired “gay propaganda. ”The anizers had good reason to be wary: Life has been challengg for gay Rsians sce the law passed, as the ernment has treated gay life as a Wtern import that is harmful to tradnal Rsian valu and Rsia’s Parliament is set to pass a legislative package that would ban all “gay propaganda, ” signalg an even more difficult perd ahead for a stigmatized segment of laws would prohib reprentatn of L.

‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA

Exprsn wh s ratnale for the war Ukrae, sistg that Rsia is fightg not jt Ukrae but all of NATO, a Wtern alliance that reprents a threat to the Put drove home that argument a speech last week, sayg that the Wt n have “dozens of genrs and gay pri paras, ” but that should not try to spread the “trends” elsewhere.

EIGHT HORRIFIC AND UPLIFTG STORI ABOUT BEG GAY THE NEW RSIA

Aleksandr Khste, a puty om the lg Uned Rsia party and the lead thor of the new anti-gay bills, was even more blunt. Lunchenkov said that 2010, when he was school, he felt that he uld exprs his gay inty eely among his classmat. Olenichev said that though the police do not track hate crim agast queer people, he and his lleagu have noticed an crease clients who have suffered inty-based attacks sce rhetoric behd anti-gay laws may have dangero nsequenc for gay Rsians, said Vladimir Komov, a lawyer wh the group Delo 2013 law was promoted as protectg children, while the new on “seek to prohib gay propaganda as a danger to the state system, ” fg as extremism, he Lunchenkov said the proposed laws uld leave gay people “aaid to go to medil clics to get treatment or ttg” for sexually transmted diseas.

THE FEAR OF BEG GAY RSIA

“I am more sred of beg drafted to fight the war than for beg arrted bee I am gay, ” said Andrei Melnikov, 19. Lawmakers llg gays a danger on a par wh war “is more funny than sry, ” he now, gay Rsians and their alli have found exprsn spe rtrictive laws. A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 7 of the New York edn wh the headle: Life for Gay Rsians Is About to Get Worse.

Rsia's World Cup volunteers have warned they will hunt down gay England fans and report them to police if they see them kissg publicPublished: 9:00, 28 Jun 2018Updated: 9:02, 28 Jun 2018RUSSIA'S World Cup volunteers have warned they will hunt down gay England fans and report them to police if they see them kissg public. But what are the laws regardg homosexualy Rsia - and n same sex upl actually be prosecuted for beg openly affectnate?

While 's not agast the law to be a gay relatnship Rsia, same sex marriag are illegal. LGBT rights groups say homophobic attacks have rocketed sce print Vladimir Put approved the ntroversial law outlawg the promotn of a gay liftyle to mors 2013.

SECRECY, DARK ROOMS, AND PATRTIC DRAG QUEENS: A GAY NIGHT OUT MOSW

2 One volunteer group Rsia have warned gay fans uld be sent to policeCred: East2wt News. Although sexual activy between gay people was crimalised 1993, homosexual upl are not eligible for the legal protectns offered to heterosexuals Rsia.

Gay people are allowed to serve the ary, but there is an unofficial "Don't ask, don't tell policy". Dpe beg slammed for the recent crease social discrimatn, crim and vlence agast homosexuals, big ci such as Mosw and Sat Petersburg are said to have thrivg LGBT muni.

In a report issued April 2012, a panel of five expert advisers to the Uned Natns Human rights Council nmned the wave of torture and killgs of gay men Chechnya. In January 2018, two gay men whose marriage was registered by Rsian officials fled the untry after receivg ath threats.

THE 5 BEST MOSW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS MOSW

Stotsko said he had exploed a loophole the gay marriage law, cg another law that means Rsia regnis marriag registered abroad.

GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI

Meanwhile, gay supporters attendg the World cup were also warned is dangero to hold hands public Rsia. In January 2016, state Duma rejected a proposal by the munist Party to punish people who publicly show their homosexualy wh f and arrts.

Gay rights champn Peter Tatchell arrted Mosw after takg part ‘illegal prott’ hours before World Cup kick off.

It was his personal prott agast a proposed law the Rsian parliament, the Duma, which would ban distributg “gay propaganda” to mors. The law’s broad fn of “propaganda” would prohib publicly discsg gay relatnships, parg them to heterosexual on, or llg them “normal. ” That is, would effectively crimalize the procs of g out—so often the drivg force for wir social acceptance of gays.

WNS: BEATEN FOR BEG GAY RSIA - ANDREY’S STORY

“In the urse of the nversatn, beme clear that their 23-year-old iend was a homosexual, which enraged the rt of the group, ” acrdg to a news report. ”Courty of AfishaA Febary issue of Afisha magaze featured the stori of 30 gay man’s mourng iends posted ttimonials onle.

”In Febary, as the gay-propaganda law ma s way through the Duma, a popular Mosw magaze lled Afisha ran a rabow flag on s ver. ” He broke his silence after hearg Put and Medvev boastg that there was no anti-gay discrimatn Rsia. Shortly before I left Mosw last fall, she had approached our mutual iend Boris, a r young gay man who -owns several of the rtrants and bars we loved to lger .

ON THE MOSW METRO AND BEG GAY

I’d never seen this circle awa a child so yet, although Elena was born the day the Duma passed a law banng foreign adoptns by gay upl, and a week before Put signed the gay-propaganda bill to law, no one drew a nnectn between her birth and a legislative ph that prohibs anyone llg Sasha and Boris’s relatnship “normal.

Mosw’s first gay pri para was held May 2006, thirteen years after homosexualy was crimalized Rsia. Only a few months later, Rsia saw s first regnal anti-gay law passed Ryazan, 200 east of Mosw. On the lol and natnal level, a seri of so-lled anti-gay propaganda laws were passed that ma illegal to discs LGBT them wh mors or to distribute such rmatn to them, even if alt wh health issu.