Man vs. City: Russian Gay Activist Nikolai Alexeyev Fights Homophobic Moscow

From the headline, you'd think a more appropriate dateline would be 1957 or 1972 or even 1991, after the fall of Communism, but this story actually dates back to this month. That's right, on Friday October 1, 2010, gay rights activists in Moscow held their first-ever legal protest outside the local office of Swiss International Air Lines.

The group of 15 gay people that gathered outside Swiss Air to protest the strange disappearance of the group leader, Nikolai Alexeyev, as he was boarding a Swiss International Air flight to Geneva on September 15. According to the Moscow Times, "Alexeyev claims that the airline removed him from the boarding gate ahead of his flight to Geneva at the behest of four unidentified men, not in uniform, who took him to a police station. He said he was warned to withdraw complaints filed against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights and then deported to Belarus."

For the first time, the group protesting were protected by police escorts. The group was subject to death threats, epithets, and water pistol shots fired at them from a group of hooded men thought to be Nazis. "Unfortunately we are obliged to do some kind of military operation to make sure that this event takes place," Alexeyev told AFP after the protest.

Why the change of heart Moscow? As it turns out, the increased tolerance for gay gatherings is due almost entirely to the removal of Mayor Yury Luzhkov this past month, following a public feud between the Mayor and President Dmitry Medvedev, who laid claims, supported by media stories, that Luzhkov neglected duties during last summer's wildfires and helped to make his wife become one of the richest women in Russia rather than lead his city. The news reports mark the first time in ten years that national television has openly criticized a public official. Luzhkov was homophobic and was largely responsible for the inability of the gay community in Moscow to hold public events, protests, or pride events.

No word on why Alexeyev was arrested on September 15 and no response from the Russian government or Swiss International Air Lines. According to San Diego Gay and Lesbian News, when Alexeyev was released he relayed that he had been drugged and pressured to withdraw his complaint against Luzhkov.

Alexeyev posted on his Facebook the day of the Swiss Air protest, “This morning I got direct threats against my life due to the picket which is supposed to take place today next to Swiss Air Lines office. Anti gay protestors (sic) already promised to kill me today and to disrupt the event ...”

Incredibly, after the first arrest, Alexeyev continues to be the target of backlash from the Russian government. He was arrested a second time on September 21 for protesting outside of city hall for anti-gay comments that Luzhkov made on Russian television.

The truth is, Moscow hasn't truly had a change of heart, but rather has taken a tiny baby step toward fair and equal treatment of LGBT people. Just yesterday, Alexeyev was arrested again, according to Russian news sources, along with 40 other human rights activists, while protesting for the return of the direct election of the mayor of Moscow. They were charged with participation in an unsanctioned rally and released later that day. Alexeyev said to News BCM, "We were dragged on the pavement almost in a reclining position. The same way they dragged us into the bus."

Moscow's Gay and Lesbian Community page on Facebook, run by Alexeyev, has a meager 32 members and the tagline states, "Let's create a place to show we support the courage, the bravery and the overcoming of fear for Moscow's GLBT community." The image shows protesters with a rainbow flag; the one young person in center focus with a cloth over her mouth in the event of tear gas. How easily we can take pride for granted in America. Let us not forget that our LGBTQ brothers and sisters (and others) are still fighting for their lives, let alone for their place on the stage.

Watch Nikolai Alexeyev, Marshall of the Vancouver Pride 2010 and the head of Human Rights project Gay Russia, as he speaks about gay rights in Russia:

Photo credit: josef.stuefer