Gayrussia.ru
Encyclopedia
LGBT Human Rights Project GayRussia.Ru (Gayrussia.ru) is an LGBT
Advocate organization in Russia
. It is the organizer of numerous public actions in Russia, the most famous being the Moscow Pride
and the Slavic Pride. It also sponsored the documentary Moscow Pride '06
. From November 2008, Project GayRussia.Ru extended its advocacy work in Belarus
where it launched the Slavic Gay Pride movement with its local partner Gaybelarus.by
Its website www.gayrussia.ru is a bridge between the Russian speaking LGBT
community and the rest of the world featuring Russian LGBT news in English and World LGBT news in Russian. It is also being used to advertise the campaigns and the advocacy work of the organization. www.gayrussia.ru is a frequently read webside about LGBT
rights issues in Russia.
Project GayRussia.Ru tracked and revealed the homophobia
of various Russian politicians and public figures, especially of the City Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov.
The page gives also practical advice for visiting Russia
.
. Its aim is to raise awareness on LGBT issues in the society by launching a series of public campaigns demanding the end of different discrimination faced by the community.
The organization believes that raising LGBT issues in public debates and in the media is the only way to change the view, often biased, of Russian public opinion towards LGBT people.
In February 2009, the organization defined a moto: “Gay Equality, No Compromise”
.
Nikolai Alekseev launched the organization because no progress was made since the decriminalization of male homosexuality in Russia in 1993.
), InterPride (the International Association of LGBT Pride Organizers), the EPOA (European Pride Organizers Association). It is also the founding member of the Slavic Pride movement.
which is often referred by media as the "Moscow Pride
battle".
In July 2005, Project GayRussia.Ru launched the Moscow Pride
Initiative which was announced by Nikolai Alekseev during a press conference held in Moscow. The mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov said on several occasions that he will not authorize any public action of gays in the streets of the Russian capital. The Moscow Pride took place despite the bans on May 27, 2006, May 27, 2007, June 1, 2008 and May 16, 2009. Activists were arrested every year in front of the main international media. Reports were made all around the world.
For more information about the Moscow Pride planned for May 29, 2010 see Moscow Pride 2010
Project GayRussia.Ru also extended its campaign outside Moscow and attempted to organize street public actions in Tambov (October 2008) and Ryazan (April 2009). (April 2009).
The organization systematically appealed any of its banned actions through the Russian courts before to send it to the European Court of Human Rights
in Strasbourg
, France
. Not a single case was won in Russia. Russian judges denied taking into consideration when judging the different cases the precedent set by the European Court. In the case of Bączkowski v Poland the Court ruled that the ban of the Warsaw Pride in 2005 was a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights
, which was ratified by the Russian Federation in 1998.
As of July 2009, 168 banned events are pending consideration in 7 different cases at the European Court.
On February 14, 2009, activists from Project Gayrussia.ru and Project gaybelarus.by
organized together with activists from local LGBT group TaPaGeS, a protest in the centre of Strasbourg asking the European Court to speed up the consideration of their complain, the oldest being sent in January 2007.
On July 19, 2006 and July 19, 2007, a protest organized by Project Gayrussia.ru in front of the Iranian Embassy with the aim “to attract attention to the execution of minors and ask for the repeal of death penalty” was authorized by the Prefecture of the Central Administrative area of Moscow.
The application was not explicitly referring to a gay protest. However, the same protest was banned in July 2008 and July 2009 after the words “and homosexuals” was added in the application.
In April 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru decided to take to the UN Human Rights Committee the ban of the July 2008 protest. The organization aims is to ultimately get a ruling against Russia both at the European Court of Human Rights
and at the UN Human Rights Committee. In its final report, the Committee expressed its concerns about violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons as well as the systematic discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation including hate speech by public officials, religious leaders and in the media. The Committee also expressed its concerns on the infringement of the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of association.
In July 2006, the General Prosecution recognised that there is nothing in the law which prevents gays from donating their blood. Instead, the law only define a list of disease that can prevent to donate blood. As a result, it asked the Ministry of Health to remove homosexuals from its instruction.
In April 2007, Project GayRussia.Ru sent a reminder to the General Prosecution and the Ministry of Health as the instruction had not been amended.
On September 14, 2007, Project GayRussia.Ru organized a protest in front of the Minister of Health asking for the instruction to be amended. The protest took place despite having been banned by the authorities and several activists were arrested. The same day Nikolai Alekseev attempted to give his blood at a transfusion centre in Moscow. He was denied. The denial was recorded by several media who were covering the event.
In May 2008, the Ministry of Health wrote to Project GayRussia.Ru and confirmed that it had finally removed homosexuals from its instruction.
As of July 2009, this campaign still marks the only discrimination against homosexual removed in Russia since decriminalization of male same sex relations in 1993.
In March 2009, activists of Project GayRussia.Ru launched a campaign asking the law to be repealed. On March 30, 2009, Nikolai Baev and Ira Fet were arrested in Ryazan and charged for propaganda of homosexuality to minors after they stood next to a local school with banners quoting “Homosexuality is normal “ and “I am homosexual and proud of it”. They were released and sentenced to a fine.
Nikolai Baev appealed the case of his arrest to the European Court of Human Rights while Irina Fet appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee. Nikolai Alekseev appealed the case of the banned March to the same Court. In January 2010, the Constitutional Court gave a decision against the three activists who claimed that the law was unconstitutional. In April 2010, the UN Human Rights Committee opened the case of Irina Fet and started communicating with both parties.
As of June 2010, the European Court of Human Rights has not yet open the case.
The organization also appealed for 1 march and 1 picket which were denied. The aim was to be able to challenge the constitutionality of the law at the level of the Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights.
Festival from May 25 to May 27.
In 2007, Project GayRussia.Ru organized the 2nd Moscow Pride Festival from May 26 to May 27.
In 2008, Project GayRussia.Ru did not organize a festival. The 3rd Moscow Pride took place in the form of 2 street actions.
In 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru organized the 1st Slavic Pride Festival in Moscow from May 14 to May 17.
In 2010, Project GayRussia.Ru co-organized with Gaybelarus.by
the 2nd Slavic Pride Festival in Minsk from May 14 to May 16 and the 5th Moscow Pride on May 26.
. Participants have come from 9 different cities in Belarus, also from 10 countries in Europe, representing more than 30 organisations. The Conference was hold under the patronage of International Day Against Homophobia
. The delegation of the European Commission
to Belarus gave its political support to the event. Mr Jean-Eric Holzapfel, head of the delegation, insisted in his opening speech on the necessity to fight homophobia in Europe and in Belarus in particular. Also, representatives of the Swedish
, French
and Hungarian
Embassies as well as a representative of the NGO “Global Rights Defenders” (ex-Swedish Helsinki Committee) were present as observers. The conference delegates discussed and adopted a joint resolution on the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons in Belarus. The text, which will be sent to President Alexander Lukashenko
, the government and the parliament, is calling for the ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the prosecution of hate speech, the recognition of equal rights of same-sex couples, the recognition of May 17th as the Day Against Homophobia. It furthers asks the authorities to provide support in organizing Slavic Pride in Minsk next May.
In Russia, its news are often republished by news agency Interfax, radio Echo of Moscow
, and internet portal Lenta.ru
, Newsru.com.
Outside Russia, its news are republished by news agency AFP
, AP
and numerous LGBT magazines and internet portals such as Tetu
, E-llico Illico
, Yagg (France), The Advocate
, 365gay.com, Queerty (USA), UKgayNews.org.uk (UK), Pinknews (UK).
In 2005, Project GayRussia.Ru established a partnership with the LGBT news site UKGayNews.
In 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru established a partnership with Gay-Radio.ru, the main Gay Radio broadcasted in Russian over the internet.
In 2010, Project GayRussia.Ru launched an online radio "GayRussia-radio" which is available on stream on its internet page.
, Switzerland
.
In May 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru was awarded the "Golden Heart Award" from the Phnom Penh (Cambodia) LGBT Pride Festival in recognition of its support to the organization.
In December 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru was awarded the Europahøjskolen Prize (Denmark) for its work for the rights of minorities in Russia.
See "Reputation and Awards" of Nikolai Alekseev
for other Awards attributed personally to Nikolai Alekseev in the framework of his involvement with Project GayRussia.
A retrospective of the work accomplished by the organization from May 2005 until December 2008 is available under GayRussia Celebrates Three and a Half Years of Gay Activism.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Advocate organization in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is the organizer of numerous public actions in Russia, the most famous being the Moscow Pride
Moscow Pride
Moscow Pride is a demonstration of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons . It was intended to take place in May annually since 2006 in the Russian capital Moscow, but has been regularly banned by Moscow City Hall, headed by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov until 2010...
and the Slavic Pride. It also sponsored the documentary Moscow Pride '06
Moscow Pride '06
Moscow Pride '06 is a documentary movie of the 2006 Gay pride parade in Moscow.-Synopsis:The documentary features the events that took place around the first Moscow Pride festival in Russia’s capital from May 25 to May 27 2006....
. From November 2008, Project GayRussia.Ru extended its advocacy work in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
where it launched the Slavic Gay Pride movement with its local partner Gaybelarus.by
Gaybelarus.by
Belarusian LGBT Rights project “GayBelarus” is a civic association for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals LGBT from all over the country. Head and founder of this organization is Sergey Androsenko .-Assembly:...
Its website www.gayrussia.ru is a bridge between the Russian speaking LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community and the rest of the world featuring Russian LGBT news in English and World LGBT news in Russian. It is also being used to advertise the campaigns and the advocacy work of the organization. www.gayrussia.ru is a frequently read webside about LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights issues in Russia.
Project GayRussia.Ru tracked and revealed the homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
of various Russian politicians and public figures, especially of the City Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov.
The page gives also practical advice for visiting Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Main Goal
The organization was created to fight discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Russia, headed by Nikolai AlekseevNikolai Alekseev
Nikolay Alexandrovich Alexeyev, also written in English as Alekseyev, Alekseev and Alexeev born on December 23, 1977 in Moscow) is a Russian LGBT rights activist, lawyer and journalist....
. Its aim is to raise awareness on LGBT issues in the society by launching a series of public campaigns demanding the end of different discrimination faced by the community.
The organization believes that raising LGBT issues in public debates and in the media is the only way to change the view, often biased, of Russian public opinion towards LGBT people.
In February 2009, the organization defined a moto: “Gay Equality, No Compromise”
Origins
Project GayRussia.Ru was launched on May 17, 2005 by Nikolai Alekseev in Moscow on the first International Day Against HomophobiaInternational Day Against Homophobia
The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia is celebrated every May 17.It is coordinated by the Paris based "IDAHO Committee" founded and presided by French academics, Louis-Georges Tin...
.
Nikolai Alekseev launched the organization because no progress was made since the decriminalization of male homosexuality in Russia in 1993.
Structure
As a non registered organization, it operates under article 3 of the Federal Law on public association which states : “Public organisations created by citizens can be registered in accordance with the current Federal Law and acquire the rights of registered legal body or can function without state registration and acquiring of the rights of registered legal body”. The organization does not receive any funding and it does not hold neither a bank account nor any property.Key People
Nikolai Alekseev is the founder and current leader of Project GayRussia. Among other activists are Nikolai Baev, signing articles published on the website of the organization, he also represented the organization in several LGBT conferences outside Russia, Irina Fet who attempted to marry her partner in Moscow on May 12, 2009, Anton Sutyagin coordinating the operations of the organization in Belarus, Yuri Gavrikov, in charge of the logistics of the campaigns. Dmitri Bartnev is the lawyer of the organization. The organization counts on a rotating group of approximately 20 to 30 activists.Membership
Project GayRussia.Ru is a Member of the IDAHO Committee (the International Day Against HomophobiaInternational Day Against Homophobia
The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia is celebrated every May 17.It is coordinated by the Paris based "IDAHO Committee" founded and presided by French academics, Louis-Georges Tin...
), InterPride (the International Association of LGBT Pride Organizers), the EPOA (European Pride Organizers Association). It is also the founding member of the Slavic Pride movement.
Campaigns
Project GayRussia.Ru has launched 5 main campaigns since its launch. One was successfully closed in 2008. The most famous ongoing campaign is for Freedom of AssemblyFreedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
which is often referred by media as the "Moscow Pride
Moscow Pride
Moscow Pride is a demonstration of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons . It was intended to take place in May annually since 2006 in the Russian capital Moscow, but has been regularly banned by Moscow City Hall, headed by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov until 2010...
battle".
Campaign for Freedom of Assembly
As of July 2009, not a single LGBT street public action has ever been authorized in any city of Russia.In July 2005, Project GayRussia.Ru launched the Moscow Pride
Moscow Pride
Moscow Pride is a demonstration of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons . It was intended to take place in May annually since 2006 in the Russian capital Moscow, but has been regularly banned by Moscow City Hall, headed by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov until 2010...
Initiative which was announced by Nikolai Alekseev during a press conference held in Moscow. The mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov said on several occasions that he will not authorize any public action of gays in the streets of the Russian capital. The Moscow Pride took place despite the bans on May 27, 2006, May 27, 2007, June 1, 2008 and May 16, 2009. Activists were arrested every year in front of the main international media. Reports were made all around the world.
For more information about the Moscow Pride planned for May 29, 2010 see Moscow Pride 2010
Project GayRussia.Ru also extended its campaign outside Moscow and attempted to organize street public actions in Tambov (October 2008) and Ryazan (April 2009). (April 2009).
The organization systematically appealed any of its banned actions through the Russian courts before to send it to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Not a single case was won in Russia. Russian judges denied taking into consideration when judging the different cases the precedent set by the European Court. In the case of Bączkowski v Poland the Court ruled that the ban of the Warsaw Pride in 2005 was a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
, which was ratified by the Russian Federation in 1998.
As of July 2009, 168 banned events are pending consideration in 7 different cases at the European Court.
On February 14, 2009, activists from Project Gayrussia.ru and Project gaybelarus.by
Gaybelarus.by
Belarusian LGBT Rights project “GayBelarus” is a civic association for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals LGBT from all over the country. Head and founder of this organization is Sergey Androsenko .-Assembly:...
organized together with activists from local LGBT group TaPaGeS, a protest in the centre of Strasbourg asking the European Court to speed up the consideration of their complain, the oldest being sent in January 2007.
On July 19, 2006 and July 19, 2007, a protest organized by Project Gayrussia.ru in front of the Iranian Embassy with the aim “to attract attention to the execution of minors and ask for the repeal of death penalty” was authorized by the Prefecture of the Central Administrative area of Moscow.
The application was not explicitly referring to a gay protest. However, the same protest was banned in July 2008 and July 2009 after the words “and homosexuals” was added in the application.
In April 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru decided to take to the UN Human Rights Committee the ban of the July 2008 protest. The organization aims is to ultimately get a ruling against Russia both at the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
and at the UN Human Rights Committee. In its final report, the Committee expressed its concerns about violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons as well as the systematic discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation including hate speech by public officials, religious leaders and in the media. The Committee also expressed its concerns on the infringement of the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of association.
Campaign for Lifting Ban on blood donation by Gays
In April 2006, Project GayRussia.Ru asked the General Prosecution and the Minister of Health to amend the instruction on blood donors released by the Minister of Health on September 14, 2001 which includes homosexuals as part of the HIV high risk group.In July 2006, the General Prosecution recognised that there is nothing in the law which prevents gays from donating their blood. Instead, the law only define a list of disease that can prevent to donate blood. As a result, it asked the Ministry of Health to remove homosexuals from its instruction.
In April 2007, Project GayRussia.Ru sent a reminder to the General Prosecution and the Ministry of Health as the instruction had not been amended.
On September 14, 2007, Project GayRussia.Ru organized a protest in front of the Minister of Health asking for the instruction to be amended. The protest took place despite having been banned by the authorities and several activists were arrested. The same day Nikolai Alekseev attempted to give his blood at a transfusion centre in Moscow. He was denied. The denial was recorded by several media who were covering the event.
In May 2008, the Ministry of Health wrote to Project GayRussia.Ru and confirmed that it had finally removed homosexuals from its instruction.
As of July 2009, this campaign still marks the only discrimination against homosexual removed in Russia since decriminalization of male same sex relations in 1993.
Campaign to End Ban on HIV+ Foreigners Entering Country
In February 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru initiated a campaign for the cancellation of article 10 of the law of 1995 on prevention of distribution of HIV in Russia which bans HIV-positive foreigners from staying in Russia for more than three months. The organization asked the President, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Affairs Minister, to stop requesting foreign visa applicants for their HIV status.Campaign Against Regional Law to forbid propaganda of homosexuality to minors
On May 24, 2006, the local parliament of the region of Ryazan added to the list of administrative offences: "Section 3.13. Public actions oriented to propaganda of homosexuality (male and female) among minor children".In March 2009, activists of Project GayRussia.Ru launched a campaign asking the law to be repealed. On March 30, 2009, Nikolai Baev and Ira Fet were arrested in Ryazan and charged for propaganda of homosexuality to minors after they stood next to a local school with banners quoting “Homosexuality is normal “ and “I am homosexual and proud of it”. They were released and sentenced to a fine.
Nikolai Baev appealed the case of his arrest to the European Court of Human Rights while Irina Fet appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee. Nikolai Alekseev appealed the case of the banned March to the same Court. In January 2010, the Constitutional Court gave a decision against the three activists who claimed that the law was unconstitutional. In April 2010, the UN Human Rights Committee opened the case of Irina Fet and started communicating with both parties.
As of June 2010, the European Court of Human Rights has not yet open the case.
The organization also appealed for 1 march and 1 picket which were denied. The aim was to be able to challenge the constitutionality of the law at the level of the Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights.
Organization of International Events
In 2006, Project GayRussia.Ru organized the 1st Moscow PrideMoscow Pride
Moscow Pride is a demonstration of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons . It was intended to take place in May annually since 2006 in the Russian capital Moscow, but has been regularly banned by Moscow City Hall, headed by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov until 2010...
Festival from May 25 to May 27.
In 2007, Project GayRussia.Ru organized the 2nd Moscow Pride Festival from May 26 to May 27.
In 2008, Project GayRussia.Ru did not organize a festival. The 3rd Moscow Pride took place in the form of 2 street actions.
In 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru organized the 1st Slavic Pride Festival in Moscow from May 14 to May 17.
In 2010, Project GayRussia.Ru co-organized with Gaybelarus.by
Gaybelarus.by
Belarusian LGBT Rights project “GayBelarus” is a civic association for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals LGBT from all over the country. Head and founder of this organization is Sergey Androsenko .-Assembly:...
the 2nd Slavic Pride Festival in Minsk from May 14 to May 16 and the 5th Moscow Pride on May 26.
LGBT Conference in Minsk on September 26, 2009
On September 26, 2009, Gayrussia hosted together with its partner gaybelarus an LGBT human rights conference in the 5 star hotel Crown Plaza in MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. Participants have come from 9 different cities in Belarus, also from 10 countries in Europe, representing more than 30 organisations. The Conference was hold under the patronage of International Day Against Homophobia
International Day Against Homophobia
The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia is celebrated every May 17.It is coordinated by the Paris based "IDAHO Committee" founded and presided by French academics, Louis-Georges Tin...
. The delegation of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
to Belarus gave its political support to the event. Mr Jean-Eric Holzapfel, head of the delegation, insisted in his opening speech on the necessity to fight homophobia in Europe and in Belarus in particular. Also, representatives of the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Embassies as well as a representative of the NGO “Global Rights Defenders” (ex-Swedish Helsinki Committee) were present as observers. The conference delegates discussed and adopted a joint resolution on the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons in Belarus. The text, which will be sent to President Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
, the government and the parliament, is calling for the ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the prosecution of hate speech, the recognition of equal rights of same-sex couples, the recognition of May 17th as the Day Against Homophobia. It furthers asks the authorities to provide support in organizing Slavic Pride in Minsk next May.
LGBT Barometer Poll
In 2005, Project GayRussia.Ru initiated a “LGBT barometer” to monitor the attitude of Russian towards homosexuals. The poll was made by the Independent Centre Levada. It took place in Spring 2005, Spring 2006 and Spring 2007. It was discontinued from 2008 and onward due to lack of funding. However, Project GayRussia.Ru ordered a poll in Belarus in October 2009.LGBT News Agency
Project GayRussia.Ru operates as an informal news agency, providing information directed to the LGBT community in English and in Russian. This channel also served to publicize the activities of the organization. As of December 2008, Project GayRussia.Ru reported the publication of over 5’000 articles and 10 million hits on its website.In Russia, its news are often republished by news agency Interfax, radio Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow is a Russian radio station based in Moscow, broadcasting in many Russian cities, in some of the former-Soviet republics , and via the Internet, which some observers describe as "the last bastion of free media in Russia"...
, and internet portal Lenta.ru
Lenta.Ru
Lenta.Ru is a Moscow-based news website in Russian language, owned by Rambler Media Group which belongs to Prof-Media. It is considered one of the most popular Russian language online resources with over 600 thousand visitors daily....
, Newsru.com.
Outside Russia, its news are republished by news agency AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
, AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and numerous LGBT magazines and internet portals such as Tetu
Tetu
Tetu may refer to:* Têtu, a French gay magazine* a name for the Oroxylum indicum tree in the marathi language...
, E-llico Illico
Illico
Illico is a free bimonthly French LGBT magazine, founded in March of 1988.-Overview:It has a circulation of around 40,000 and is composed primarily of articles and opinion polls about current events, as well as information relating to gay culture, activism, and local Parisian issues.-Controversy:On...
, Yagg (France), The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, 365gay.com, Queerty (USA), UKgayNews.org.uk (UK), Pinknews (UK).
In 2005, Project GayRussia.Ru established a partnership with the LGBT news site UKGayNews.
In 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru established a partnership with Gay-Radio.ru, the main Gay Radio broadcasted in Russian over the internet.
In 2010, Project GayRussia.Ru launched an online radio "GayRussia-radio" which is available on stream on its internet page.
Recognition & Awards
In March 2006, Project GayRussia.Ru was an Iron Donor of the XXIII ILGA World Conference which took place in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
In May 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru was awarded the "Golden Heart Award" from the Phnom Penh (Cambodia) LGBT Pride Festival in recognition of its support to the organization.
In December 2009, Project GayRussia.Ru was awarded the Europahøjskolen Prize (Denmark) for its work for the rights of minorities in Russia.
See "Reputation and Awards" of Nikolai Alekseev
Nikolai Alekseev
Nikolay Alexandrovich Alexeyev, also written in English as Alekseyev, Alekseev and Alexeev born on December 23, 1977 in Moscow) is a Russian LGBT rights activist, lawyer and journalist....
for other Awards attributed personally to Nikolai Alekseev in the framework of his involvement with Project GayRussia.
A retrospective of the work accomplished by the organization from May 2005 until December 2008 is available under GayRussia Celebrates Three and a Half Years of Gay Activism.
See also
- Nikolai AlekseevNikolai AlekseevNikolay Alexandrovich Alexeyev, also written in English as Alekseyev, Alekseev and Alexeev born on December 23, 1977 in Moscow) is a Russian LGBT rights activist, lawyer and journalist....
- Gaybelarus.byGaybelarus.byBelarusian LGBT Rights project “GayBelarus” is a civic association for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals LGBT from all over the country. Head and founder of this organization is Sergey Androsenko .-Assembly:...
- Russian LGBT networkRussian LGBT networkRussian LGBT network — Russian interregional non-governmental organization working for the protection of rights and social adaptation of sexual and gender minorities .The movement was founded in May, 2006...
- LGBT rights in Russia
External links
- LGBT Human Rights Project GayRussia.Ru (en)(ru)— Official site
- LGBT Human Rights Project GayBelarus.By (en)(ru)— Official site
- International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (en)(fr)(es)— Official site