Nov 29

Riot police in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, have forcefully dispersed hundreds of protesters, beating some with truncheons, witnesses say.

Italy will be the only country allowed to adopt children from Russia because it does not recognize gay marriage, a Kremlin official said Friday. “It turns out that Italy is currently the only country whose citizens are able to adopt Russian children because, first of all, this country refused to recognise same-sex marriage, which, for its part, does not require Russia to change the existing agreement, and, secondly, (the Italians) abide by the terms of this treaty. That is all,” Children Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov told Russia’s Interfax news agency. “It is not our fault. (Other countries) should work harder if you want international adoption to continue.”

The development of shale gas and power in Ukraine would further threaten export markets which Russia has taken for granted for decades. If Ukraine were within the EU, or on a long path towards membership, Gazprom’s stranglehold would be that much more likely to be threatened, not least because the prospect of accession would reduce the risks for potential investors.

Members of the conservative organization World Russian People’s Council (WRPC) Youth Club supported proposal made by the representatives of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly to revoke distribution certificates of films participating in the “Side by Side” LGBT festival.

Undoubtedly, it was an uncomfortable moment. President Viktor F. Yanukovich of Ukraine, who last week ditched plans to sign far-reaching political and trade agreements with the European Union, found himself confronted last night by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and by the host of the summit meeting here, President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania.

New petition for visa bans and asset freezes on anti LGBTQ politicians

SBS Dateline (Australia): See the devastating consequences of Russia’s new anti-gay law, where people now live increasingly in fear of arrest or attack.

New Nike ad campaign “play Russian” Produced by Imperial Woodpecker, for Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam.

New social media campaign #GayPropaganda

Spectrum Human Rights and LGBT-Assistance (Russia) activists came to the Mayer Brown law firm offices in Washington, DC to hand over an inquiry regarding Mr. Nikolay Mizulin who is employed as one of the Mayer Brown lawyers in their branch in Belgium.

A federal appeals court has ordered immigration officials to review their decision not to grant asylum to a gay man who said he was attacked for his sexual orientation in 2002 and 2003 in his native Russia and feared he would be persecuted if forced to return there.

The Lithuanian Parliament takes step towards law protecting antigay speech from any liability. It rejected the recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights to disapprove this controversial legislative initiative (29 votes in favour, 33 votes against, and 14 abstentions). Now the amendment will be considered by the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities. It will already be the sixth committee that will consider the above-mentioned proposal.

The Soviet-era dissident Natalya Gorbanevskaya has died in Paris aged 77.
Gorbanevskaya was arrested for taking part in a 1968 protest in Moscow’s Red Square against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.