Russia: I Hope The Russians Love Their Children Too

Nikita Gurjanov, 17, born in Moscow, is at high school in the city’s centre. Nikita has been openly gay since he was sixteen years old, he is a member of Rainbow Association; a large organisation fighting for human rights for LGBT people, but also wants to create his own local-teen organisation in the future. Nikita hosts his own youtube channel, participates in street activism and actively helps teenage LGBT people like him with their problems, mostly to do with ‘coming out’ to their family and peers; “Sometimes young boys and girls write me messages about how they must go about telling their parents, how can they come out, what must they do, they are afraid of society and of showing themselves, I told them everything is normal, they must not be afraid, I even talk with them on Skype and on the mobile, and sometimes I even meet them in real life and help them, if they live in Russia.”

From a photo essay in the Observer Magazine, Gay and lesbian people in Russia.

Like Nikita many people featured are campaigning against homophobia and are promoting homosexuality.

Though oddly none have been arrested under Russia's "draconian anti-gay laws". *

* The Observer claims Kirill Kalugin, above, was arrested last year for staging a one-man gay protest in St Petersburg.
In fact police arrested two drunk paratroopers who attacked him.
Still, we're talking about Russia - why bother with facts?

PS New Vice documentary Young And Gay In Putin's Russia.