Russia IDAHO Report 2012

Activists in St Petersburg commemorated IDAHO 2012 with an officially authorized mass rally involving more than 300 people. The rally was not without incident, with 100-150 members of nationalist groups, soccer fans and aggressive clerical groups on the scene to chant extremist homophobic slogans and prepared to charge at the protestors.

A line of police acted as a buffer and were able to hold them at bay. More than 500 rainbow balloons were launched into the skies to symbolize activists’ dream of a world free from homophobia and hate.
Representatives from democratic political parties and human rights organizations spoke of the importance of joining forces against the growing tide of intolerance in society.
Despite both the rally organizers and police provided buses to take the participants to safety, violence could not be avoided and two activists were attacked.
In addition to the rally, about 100 people gathered in Khabarovsk to release balloons as part of the global RainbowFlash mobilization against homophobia. RainbowFlash was also held in Tyumen, Tomsk, Omsk, Perm, Novosibirsk, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Vladivostok, Samara, Syktyvkar, Ufa, Pskov and Voronezh.
The US Embassy in Russia marked the Day with a Roundtable in Defense of LGBT Rights, which hosted a dialog between the Embassy and Civil Rights activists.