Russia: Dozens arrested at St Petersburg Coming Out Day rally

Detainees include LGBT activists and their opponents

Police detained dozens of people after intervening in a clash over a thwarted Coming Out Day event in St Petersburg, RIA Novosti reports.

As LGBT activists arrived for the rally in the downtown area, they were met by opponents, including people wearing Cossack uniforms, members of nationalist groups and Orthodox Church adherents who blocked their passage into the Field of Mars, a site where public demonstrations take place without warranting official permission, the report says.

About 15 activists and 30 of their opponents were held after an attempt to raise rainbow flags, with one flagbearer reportedly wrestled to the ground.

Activist Natalia Tsymbalova, an organizer of the event, told Reuters authorities helped the “homophobes” scatter the rally.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied that his country, which will host the 2014 Winter Games in about four months, discriminates against LGBT people despite the passage of several anti-gay laws, with more in the works, that are being blamed for an increased crackdown on the community.

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

Keep Reading

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose