It ain’t easy being gay in Russia. The law isn’t exactly on your side.
That’s why some were surprised to see Russia’s most prominent anti-gay rights campaigner sidelined by cops last Friday after he tried to break up a May Day march of liberal activists — including LGBT supporters — in St. Petersburg.
Vitaly Milonov, a conservative local lawmaker who authored one of Russia’s first gay “propaganda” bans, is known for his many public anti-gay stunts. Late last year, with the help of police, he raided a gay club in his hometown in search of what he claimed were underage partygoers. More recently, he called on Apple to remove gay emoticons from its latest operating system.