The 25 most shocking anti-gay stories from Russia so far

Anti-gay violence and gay “propaganda” laws in Russia have drawn widespread public attention in the media recently. However, these attacks and others like them have had a longstanding history.

In the following PinkNews catalogue of anti-gay stories in Russia, we take yet another look at some of the most shocking events to date, from the newspaper editor fined for printing “being gay is normal” this year, to the earliest incidents covered by this site, such as when the gay rights activist Peter Tatchell was punched in the face at a 2007 pride parade.

The stories come in no particular order however, neither chronological nor hierarchical. This is to reflect that the Russian narrative of anti-gay oppression and violence has followed no straightforward passage either, and cannot be thought of in terms of recent history alone.

1: Gay club attacked with ‘harmful gas’ by unknown assailants

A Moscow gay club was the subject of a gas attack by unknown assailants in November.

The perpetrators of the attack on the club Central Station on 23 November, remained unknown, but the club’s director was clearly convinced that extremist anti-gay views were to blame.

Andrey Leschinsky, the director of Central Station said: “Today is the fourth provocation against the club arranged by unknown persons. We believe that they are connected with the building owner.

“They are spaying the gas inside the club premises, thereby trying to express their extremist views against LGBT community, which likes to visit our club”.