The police detained 36 on suspicion of crossing the road in the wrong place during the Moscow gay parade.
Photo: Yury Martyanov
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The Gays Crossed Luzhkov’s Road
Despite the ban of authorities, the gays paraded in Moscow yesterday. Having misled the police and Orthodox activists, the gays marched along Bolshaya Nikitskaya. Only the Orthodox activists and nationalists that attempted to pursuade the passers-by that “the gay parade is the way to hell” were detained on charges of crossing the road in the wrong place.
The action of gay activists in Bolshaya Nikitskaya began at around midday Sunday, June 1, 2008. The gays had announced the rally an hour before specifying Tverskaya Street for this purpose. A few dozens gathered near the monument to Russia’s famous composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. “Tchaikovsky was gay and lived in throng time, so the place is very symbolic for us,” explained the parade’s arranger Nikolay Alekseev.
“We would better stand here in front of the monument to Russia’s main gay than in Tverskaya, in front of the building where Russia’s main homophob sits,” Alekseev said obviously referring to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who always bans the gay parades in Moscow.
The activists didn’t stand near the monument for long, but headed through Bolshaya Nikitskaya to Bulvarnoe Koltso swinging the rainbow flags of gay movement and holding the banner reading: “Freedom to sex-minorities is the freedom to everyone. Homophobia is a component of xenophobia.”
The parade lasted a bit longer than a quarter of an hour. The police wasn’t nearby and no one was detained. The gays clashed neither with the Orthodox activists no with the nationalists that day. Misled by the Internet, the latter were getting ready to oppose the gays in Tverskaya Street.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 02, 2008
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