Yep – it’s true – it is now  a criminal law to “promote” homosexuality in Russia. What does that mean exactly?

No gay pride, no gay magazines, no gay websites, no gay clothing, no gay bumper stickers, etc.  Basically hide and shut up.

Here’s a brief sentence from Polina Savchenko, the General Manager the St. Petersburg LGBT organization Coming Out:

Today it became known that the governor of St. Petersburg Georgiy
Poltavchenko signed the homophobic law, imposing administrative fines on
the so-called “propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality,
transgenderism” and paedophilia to minors.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay sentiments remain strong. Now this.

IN 20100 – Europe courts  said  Russia could not get away with this –  A  ruling was  issued against Russia, the European Court of
Human Rights rebuked the Moscow authorities for repeatedly denying
activists the right to hold gay pride marches, Human Rights Watch said
last week.

The court, ruling on October 21, 2010, said the ban violated the right to freedom of assembly. It also ruled that the Moscow authorities
had unlawfully discriminated against activist Nikolay Aleksandrovich
Alekseyev and the organizers of gay pride events on the basis of sexual
orientation, and had denied them a remedy having violated their rights.

AN APPEAL  will be made to the European Court of Human Rights.