RIGHTS: Russian Gays Prepare for Another Struggle

By Kester Kenn Klomegah Reprint | | Print |

Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, Mar 12 2007 (IPS) - Russian homosexuals are taking up a new fight to assert their rights in the face of what the mayor of Moscow has called “satanic” practices.

“After several years of struggling for our rights, there are still some segments of the population who refuse to accept us, our way of life,” an editor of GayDotRu magazine and coordinator of the Gay Community Programmes Nikolay Alekseyev told IPS.

“One modest achievement we have scored is that criminal prosecution for homosexuality in Russia was abolished in 1993, but since then nothing has been done in terms of institutionalising sexual equality, and we have to fight on.”

Alekseyev said his organisation is convinced that the time has come to change this situation. “A new generation of lesbians and gay people has appeared in Russia, those who do not want to hide their identity any more.”

The Russian constitution guarantees freedom of conscience, freedom of association and the right to follow one’s religion. “But our problem is that the constitution is being applied less and less properly,” he said. “The provisions especially those concerning citizens’ rights are grossly ignored in many cases.”

Gay leaders want the constitution amended. “Since the Russian constitution does not state the equality of people with different sexual orientation among other factors that it does state, there is a distinctive reason to lobby it,” director at the National Gay Centre Edward Mishin told IPS.

“We feel it’s abnormal in a society that is transforming towards democracy where people can’t have freedom to choose their lifestyle. Russia has a long way to go with gay rights.”

Gays and lesbians face widespread discrimination, Alekseyev said. “They are sacked from employment, harassed by people, and sometimes their own relatives. They are attacked near gay venues. They are denied their constitutional rights. All this is happening because we continue to insist on a change of attitude towards homosexual people by the state officials, including Moscow city mayor Yury Luzhkov.”

Gay groups are planning a demonstration May 27 this year after managing to hold a gay parade last year. But Luzhkov recently described gay parades as a “satanic act” and said he would not allow a parade to be held.

The mayor thanked Patriarch Alexy II of the Orthodox Church in Moscow and others for their support in withstanding “unprecedented pressure” being put on him and the Moscow authorities “from all sides from the West.”

The size of the gay community is hard to determine. But community leaders say they could be 10 percent of the population, in line with a World Health Organisation estimate. The Russian community has been seeking to build services for members, producing websites, magazines and books, and opening nightclubs.

Edward Murzin, member of the State Duma for the Bashkir republic in the Ural mountain region in the west of Russia introduced a bill last month to legalise same-sex partnerships.

“I intend to introduce this bill in the State Duma as well, as it aims to guarantee real equality amongst citizens, and further humanise relations in society,” Murzin told Interfax news agency.

The Russian constitution outlaws discrimination against people on any ground, he said.

“Whether we want it or not, such unions exist, and sometimes those in them live together their whole lives and keep common households. They are equal members of society and therefore should have equal rights and responsibilities.”

But this is in Russia not just a rights issue.

Speaking at a journalists’ gathering in January in the Kremlin hall President Vladimir Putin suggested that the problem with same-sex relationships is that they are not reproductive.

“My attitude towards gay parades and towards sexual minorities is simple and is determined by my duties of service, and its essence is that one of the major problems of this country is demographic,” Putin said.

“However, I respect, and will continue to respect human freedom in all of its forms,” he said.