Why are Russian authorities afraid of LGBT rights?

 I got this from Amnesty International: 

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=517980&msource=W1206EALGBT1

Dear Tracy,

Waving the rainbow flag shouldn't cause controversy. But in Russia, it could get you arrested.

Russian authorities are clamping down on LGBT Pride events throughout the country. And in St. Petersburg, new "gay propaganda" legislation means that public activism in support of LGBT rights is now against the law.

This Pride month, stand up against LGBT discrimination and demand freedom of expression and assembly in Russia. Call on the governor of St. Petersburg to allow a planned Pride event to take place as scheduled in early July.

Russian activist Nikolai Alekseev knows better than anyone how difficult it is to speak out for LGBT rights in Russia. He was the first person convicted under St. Petersburg's new law after exercising his freedom of expression -- picketing peacefully for LGBT rights in front of St. Petersburg's City Hall.

What was Alekseev's fine-worthy "gay propaganda," according to the Russian authorities? A poster that read: "Homosexuality is not a perversion."

Nikolai Alekseev and others in Russia's LGBT community will not be silenced by homophobic bills or shameful attempts to quash Pride events. But they need to know they are not alone in this fight.

Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is rife in Russia. But Pride events aren't the only peaceful expressions of dissent under threat in Russia today:

• Just last week, thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow to protest President Vladimir Putin's government. Demonstrations continue despite a new law that would fine protesters $9,000 for participating in "unsanctioned public meetings" -- an astronomical sum equivalent to a year's average salary in Russia.
• Members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot are under arrest for "hooliganism" after performing a song critical of the Putin government and the Russian Orthodox Church. The women's family members as well as one of their lawyers have been threatened.
• Human rights defenders, journalists and civil society activists continue to face threats and harassment for courageous work uncovering human rights abuses and corruption in the country. The brutal beatings of journalists Oleg Kashin and Mikhail Beketov, and the murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova, remain unsolved.

It's dangerous to speak truth to power in Russia. That's why it's so important for us to speak out and let the Russian authorities know we are watching -- and that we expect an end to threats, intimidation and discrimination.

LGBT Pride events must go on in St. Petersburg this year.

Let St. Petersburg's governor know you're looking out for human rights. And let the rainbow flags fly!

For justice,

Michael O'Reilly
Senior Director, Individuals at Risk Campaign
Amnesty International USA

P.S. Want to take more action for LGBT rights? Download our new Pride action kit, which features more actions, including on the Respect for Marriage Law here in the U.S.