National gay movement takes shape in Russia

by Julia Rubin

Moscow-Three months after homosexuality in Russia was decriminalized, gays have organized to fight rampant discrimination.

In August, they announced the formation of their first nationwide advocacy group, Triangle, to promote equality for gays and lesbians and combat the spread of AIDS.

The activists' fear of discrimination was starkly illustrated by the group's new chairwoman, who goes by a pseudonym, Valya Ivanova, and wore a brown paper bag over her head at a Moscow news conference.

"I can't show my face because of society's attitude toward homosexuals," the writing on the bag said.

About 150 gay and lesbian activists from around the country met in the capital and agreed to create Triangle.

Leaders said at the news conference that organizing supporters is especially important now because Russia's political upheaval creates more opportunities for newcomers than exist in other countries.

"This very dynamic period could end soon, and we don't want history to have walked by us," said Masha Gessen, a human rights monitor for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, based in San Francisco.

"It's time to stake out a place for ourselves, to be ready to get a gay or lesbian candidate elected in the next elections, whenever they may be," she said.

Russian lawmakers lifted a Soviet-era law in April that had made male homosexuality a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. The decree took effect in May.

But gay and lesbian activists said that while things have gotten better for them since the law was repealed, there is a long way to go.

There are estimated to be hundreds of small gay and lesbian groups across Russia, but the organized gay movement―gays here use the English word gay since there is no such impartial word in Russian-is still in its infancy.

Now there are openly gay bars and cafes, the activists noted-but gays are sometimes beaten up as they leave. Gays also try to conceal their sexual identity in the workplace for fear of being fired.

More people are willing to get tested for AIDS, the leaders said, because they are no longer fearful of being arrested for male homosexuality. But many gays still are afraid of censure if friends or family find out.

And despite the law's repeal, Gessen said, there are an estimated 35 to 50 people still imprisoned for homosexuality. She said many people don't know the law has changed, and that releasing the prisoners has been left "to the whim of prison directors, some of whom don't want to comply."

In addition to political activities, Triangle will be an information center about homosexuality and AIDS. The activists said it would be funded by contributions.

Although official statistics for the number of AIDS cases in Russia is 600 to 700, gay activists say it is much higher. Dmitri Lychov, editor of the Moscow gay newspaper One-Tenth, estimated the number of Russians with HIV infection at 35,000. He didn't know what percent are gay.

Lychov said he is trying to drum up more interest among gays for AIDS awareness and prevention programs, as gay activists in the United States have done.

"Our AIDS centers remain rudimentary, and the issue doesn't interest representatives of the gay movement as much as we'd like," he said.

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Congress allows D.C. sodomy repeal to pass

Washington-Gay and lesbian sex between consenting adults is legal in the U.S. capitol for the first time because Congress took no action by mid-September to overrule local lawmakers.

A law repealing D.C.'s sodomy statute was passed by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly in May. However, it was subject to a 60-day review period, during which Congress could have overturned the measure. It was feared that opposition would be forthcoming from Sen. Jesse Helms, R.-N.C., but without a word of debate in the Congress, the review period ended September 14.

"I feel elated, delighted and overjoyed," said Frank Kameny, who founded the city's first gay rights organization in 1961 and played a key role in deciding the final text of the repeal law.

The repeal ends a 12-year battle by gay rights groups and civil libertarians, who called the law a violation of the constitutional right to privacy. Congress blocked an attempt by city officials to remove the statute 10 years ago. Conservative ministers argued against its repeal.

The law did not specifically target gays, but was rarely enforced against anyone else. It called for penalties of up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

The repeal marks the first time sodomy— defined as any genital contact with the mouth or anus-between consenting adults has been legal in the city since Congress created the district as the nation's capital in 1790.

Since 1961, 29 states have repealed laws against sodomy. Ohio's sodomy law was repealed in 1974.

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