Moscow Pride '07 : 25 - 27 May 2007
Over 100 delegates from 10 different countries took part to the second Moscow Pride Festival
2007 marked the organization of the second Moscow Pride. For the second year, the main part of the festival took place at the Moscow Swissôtel, a 5 star hotel located in the center of the Russian Capitale. The initiative group invited the British LGBT human rights group OutRage! as a guest of honour – last year it was the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). The Conference "LGBT Rights are Human Rights" which took place on Saturday 26 was followed by the Moscow Pride main annual Press Conference. Gays and lesbians, together with several politicians, attempted to deliver a letter signed by several Members of the European Parliament to the City Hall.
Activists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Omsk, Kaliningrad, Ivanovo and Tver checked in for the conference joined by delegates from Belarus and Ukraine. In 2007, most of the participants came from Russia. This situation contradicts with the previous year when the attendance was mainly made by foreigners.
To the regret of the organizers, mainstrean Russian Human Rights groups finaly denied to take part to the festival after initially agreeing to speak at the conference. They mainly argued that the society is not ready for unsanctioned public actions.
The closing press conference which took place on Saturday 26, a day before the pride, gathered alike in 2006 an impressive crowd of journalists confirming the ability to Moscow Pride to attract once a year media attention to the issue of LGBT Rights in the country. 120 journalists from 60 different media accredited. The Russian popstar group tATu, Vladimir Luxuria, Peter Tatchell, Sophie In't Veld, Volker Beck, Marco Cappato were among the foreign guests invited by the initiative group.supporters of Moscow Pride 2007 who took part to the cloisng press conference. Alexey Mitrofanov a Member of the State Duma was the only Russian politician at a national level to officially support the gay march and take part to the conference.
Vladimir Luxuria declared from Moscow "The price of freedom is always worth the trouble". Peter Tatchell said "The right to hold Moscow Pride is not just an issue of gay rights. It is a defense of freedom of expression for all Russians".
On May 27, the initiative group asked gays and lesbians to meet in front of the Moscow city hall. At the same time, Nikolai Alekseev was leading a group of foreign politicians in an attempt to deliver a letter signed by Members of the European Parliament and adressed to the Mayor of Moscow. The group was stopped by the police while they were going out of their cars in front of the city hall. Nikolai Alekseev and German Member of Bundestag Volker Beck were arrested. Vladimir Luxuria and Sophie In't Veld were threatened by protesters who were throwing eggs and carrying knives. Peter Tatchell was severely injured in the face while he was giving an interview. Several other LGBT activists were arrested by the police. Nikolai Alekseev and two other participants were held overnight by the police and released the next day after being charged with a fine by a local court.
The next day after the Moscow Pride, German, French and Swedish governments officialy reacted to what happened in Moscow.
REPORT FROM DELEGATE
Peter Tatchell gives a report of the march and pickets which took place on Sunday 27.
Organizing team of the '07 edition
