Who’s responsible?

After the latest refusal in May of last year, gay activists applied to the President for permission to hold a parade with 200 participants in Aleksandrovsky Garden – right next to the Kremlin walls.

The choice of location might seem strange at first but it has an explanation: the area is one of very few places in the Russian capital that is under the jurisdiction of the President but not the city government.

The letter was sent to the presidential administration. And, according to the law, Moscow Pride organisers had the right to receive a reply within 30 days. However, no answer followed. Instead, the administration forwarded the letter to Moscow officials.

GayRussia website quotes Nikolay Alekseev, the organiser of Moscow Pride: “Presidential administration officials probably again wanted to put all responsibility on Moscow authorities.”

The statement went on: “It’s a pity that the President, even though he proclaimed that he would fight for human rights, did not interfere and put an end to the unlawful actions of Moscow officials.”

Is Moscow ready for Gay Pride?

It seems unlikely that gays will be allowed to stage a parade on the streets of Moscow in the near future.

In December, 2008, Yury Luzhkov, the city’s mayor, said that authorities would continue their policy against homosexuals. He called gay parades “weapons of mass destruction” and “Satanist actions”.

Meanwhile, it’s not only the city authorities who are opposed to staging gay marches in Moscow. Many in this Orthodox Christian country believe that homosexual sex is sinful.

Many other people, whose religious beliefs are not so strong, regard homosexuality as something ‘wrong’ and therefore can’t accept it.

All previous attempts made by gays to stage an unsanctioned rally have resulted in clashes with anti-gay protesters and police.