Russian paratroopers swarm gay protester in Saint Petersburg

Police detain protester and paratroopers

A group of Russian ex-paratroopers harassed and attacked a gay protester in Saint Petersburg Aug 2, a YouTube video shows.

Kirill Kalugin was standing alone with a rainbow flag in Palace Square in protest against Russian anti-gay laws. A group of half a dozen ex-paratroopers, who were in the square celebrating Russian Paratrooper day, shoved and swore at Kalugin until they were taken away by police.

“What the fuck were you thinking, showing up at the Palace Square, faggot?” one paratrooper yelled.

A full translation of the exchange is available at Animal New York.

The video was shot by photojournalist Ilya Varlamov, who writes a popular Russian LiveJournal blog, according to Animal New York.

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

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