'We Will Not Be Silenced' Say St. Petersburg LGBT Activists: VIDEO

Last week, two activists were arrested in St. Petersburg, Russia protesting the city's law banning gay propaganda. Now a group of fellow activists from St. Petersburg are speaking out in a new video.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

AllOut, which has a petition up against the law, tells us: "One of the arrestees - a straight attorney named Sergey Kondrashov - was hustled off to jail after unfurling a banner that read, 'A dear family friend is a lesbian. My wife and I love and respect her, her way of life is as normal as ours, and her family is as equal as ours too.'"

AllOut plans an upcoming solidarity campaign with Sergey.

Russian Activists Holding 'Gay is Normal' Signs are First Arrested Under New St. Petersburg Law

Two activists holding signs reading "Gay is Normal" were arrested today in St. Petersburg, Russia, in a test of the city's so-called "gay propaganda" law which bars (and imposes fines for) gay groups, gay books and periodicals, LGBT Pride events, and other "promotion" of homosexuality.

The St. Petersburg Times reports:

Alexei Kiselyov and Kirill Nepomnyashy were arrested outside the Palace of Youth Creativity holding signs bearing the words, "Gay is normal," police told Interfax. Police said the pair was conducting so-called one-man pickets — which do not require City Hall approval — meaning that they were not standing together or yelling slogans.

Under a St. Petersburg law that took effect last month, anyone found guilty of promoting homosexuality among minors is to be fined from 5,000 to 500,000 rubles. The law has been condemned by domestic and international human rights advocates and gay activists, and by Western governments.

A hearing scheduled for Friday will decide whether Kiselyov and Nepomnyashy will be fined for their actions.

Author of St. Petersburg's Anti-Gay Law Will Attend Madonna Concert, Prosecute If Necessary

The man behind St. Petersburg, Russia's gay "propaganda" bill is threatening Madonna over her plans to speak out against the law when she comes to the city for a concert, ABC News reports.

The bill’s author, city assemblyman Vitaly Milanov, says he wants Madonna charged under the new law if she speaks out against it during her concert. He said he was willing to attend the show “to control its moral content.”

“I’m ready to personally suffer a couple of hours of her concert,” he told the Russian Interfax news agency.

LGBT rights activists in Russia are divided on Madonna's proposal:

A group of Russian gay rights advocates plans to picket the concert, saying Madonna is cashing in on their struggle and urging her to cancel the show. “The law will stay in force, Madonna will leave and the Russian LGBT-community will be humiliated even more,” Nikolai Aleksev, the head of the LGBT advocacy group Gay Russia, wrote on his blog.

Other Russian gay rights groups disagreed with that tactic and welcomed the attention the superstar had given to their cause.“We consider that Madonna’s visit and her address to millions of her Russian fans with words in support of freedom of expression for everyone will bring more good than a boycott would,” said Igor Kochetkov, chairman of the Russian LGBT Network.

Madonna Says She Will Go to St. Petersburg, Russia and Condemn Anti-Gay 'Atrocity'

Last week, following the passage by St. Petersburg, Russia of a law banning gay "propaganda" which bars (and imposes fines for) gay groups, gay books and periodicals, LGBT Pride events, and other "promotion" of homosexuality, there were calls from Russian journalists for boycotts of the city.

The calls were directed at Mercedes-Benz or PepsiCo, the two foreign companies that have signed on as partners of this year’s economic forum, and Madonna, who is going there on a tour this year.

Madonna has responded, saying she plans to go and speak out against the law, Bloomberg reports:

Madonna’s first tour in Russia drew the ire of orthodox Christian activists. Now she vows to defy a new law against promoting homosexuality when she performs in President-elect Vladimir Putin’s hometown in August.

“I will come to St. Petersburg to speak up for the gay community and to give strength and inspiration to anyone who is or feels oppressed,” the pop star said by e-mail late yesterday. “I’m a freedom fighter.”

“I don’t run away from adversity,” Madonna, who has used her fame to support gay rights, said in the e-mail. “I will speak during my show about this ridiculous atrocity.”

Image from the new "Girl Gone Wild" video.

Russian LGBT Activists Ask U.S., Canada, E.U. to Bar Entry to Author of Anti-Gay Law and St. Petersburg Governor

Russian LGBT activists have asked the United States, EU, Canada, Germany, France and Australia to bar entry to Vitaly Milonov, the author of the censorial and oppressive gay 'propaganda' law, Russian paper Gazeta reports:

"Milonov and Poltavchenko have disgraced Russia all over the world. They have turned our country and its "culture capital" into the medieval barbaric times, what that means is that there is no place for them in the contemporary civilized countries. Milonov and Poltavchenko do not share the values of democracy, freedom and human rights. They cannot be allowed to spread their homophobic views abroad," the authors of the open letter to the EU and other countries wrote.

Related...
Madonna, Pepsi, others urged to boycott St. Petersburg, Russia over anti-gay oppression [tlrd]

Madonna and Other Companies Urged to Boycott St. Petersburg, Russia for Silencing Gay People

Masha Gessen, a journalist in Moscow, calls on Americans to boycott St. Petersburg and cancel scheduled events there over the country's recent passage of its gay "propaganda" law, which bars (and imposes fines for) gay groups from forming publicly, gay books and periodicals, LGBT Pride events, and other violations. She specifically advises Madonna, Mercedes-Benz, and PepsiCo.

Writes Gessen in the NYT:

I am especially asking you not to go if you are the singer Madonna, who is scheduled to play a concert there on Aug. 9. And if you are Mercedes-Benz or PepsiCo, the two foreign companies that have signed on as partners of this year’s economic forum, scheduled to take place there June 21-23, I am asking you to pull out. And if you are an entrepreneur or an artist or an athlete who has been asked to participate in one of the many conferences and festivals that will take place there this summer, I am asking you to say no. And if you were just planning to visit the city as a tourist during the gorgeous white nights season in May and June, I am asking you to take your vacation someplace else.

Canada has issued a travel warning to its citizens:

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has told the House of Commons he is deeply concerned by the legislation, which he says runs counter to core Canadian values of freedom of speech, human rights and the rule of law. Baird said Canada has lodged an official protest, as well as warning travellers.

"Canada's ambassador has written to the Russian government to express our deep concern and, yes, we have at his request, put a travel advisory on our website," Baird said.

The travel advisory reads:

Homosexuality is legal, though some still strongly disapprove of it. Canadians are advised to avoid displaying affection in public, as homosexuals can be targets of violence. A law prohibiting public actions propagandizing homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality and transsexuality among minors, and prohibiting public actions propagandizing pedophilia, will come into effect in St. Petersburg on March 17th, 2012. Public actions (including dissemination of information, statements, displays or conspicuous behaviour) contradicting or appearing to contradict this law may lead to arrest, prosecution and the imposition of a fine. Similar laws are already in effect in Ryazan, Arkhangelsk and Kostroma.

Recently...
Gay 'Propaganda' Legislation Signed by St. Petersburg Governor [tlrd]