I was literally right about to post this exact same article.... It's terrible what is happening. I mean, Russia's never had the best of reputation as far as equality is concerned, but the sheer hypocrisy of allowing the anti-gay protest to go ahead while banning the gay rights protest is astounding.
The Moscow mayor Yuri Luzkhov has described gay parades as "satanic". :roflmao: That statement made my day. If something is satanic, it's his stupidity. I definitely don't want to live in Russia- that country is only democratic in name and doesn't tollerate opposition.
Sadly, unsurprising. Russia is not a fun place to be. I took Russian, and my (native Russian speaker) teacher's advice, if you planned to visit? "Don't look like you have money, dress like you are going to church, don't look too American. Just... don't go." Oh, Russia.
This was expected, but the real goal by the organizers was to get the publicity, and they did. The article I read about Eurovision devoted about a third to the stopped gay protest.
Eurovision has a large fan base within the LGBT community. Last year when the event was held in Serbia, concerns where raised about 'gay bashing' before and during the event. In a country where the Orthodox church is still powerful and has some influence it doesn't surprise me that Russia hasn't made any progress towards gay rights and/or protection.
