Aug 09, 2007News: Gays March in the Russian City of Omsk
By vanrozenheim
(Russia) - About two dozens of Gays and Lesbians marched in Omsk while the city celebrated the Day of the City, according to Gayrussia.Ru. In what seems to become a tradition, on past Sunday local Gay and Lesbian activists staged their “Rainbow march” within the framework of the general festivities. This year, the rainbow walk on the streets of Omsk was organized by a group of young activists with the support of the LGBT association "Favorit". The tiny but colourful parade went along the route from the Pushkin Library to the Leningrad Square without excesses, which is in contrast to the violent disruption of the Moscow Pride this year.
Vladimir Averin, the head of "Favorite" said that the peaceful outcome was partially to be attributed to the presence of police, and partially to the campaign "Silence is not the way out." The campaign was performed in the city since August 1 aiming to increase acceptance of Gay people. Vladimir Averin also said that he thinks of Omsk as a "tolerant city."
As stated in the message of "Favorit", the marchers wanted to show that Gays and Lesbians are not only a variety of human sexuality, but also form a particular subculture, complementary and enriching the general cultural space and that Gays and Lesbians are also patriots of their city, their countryand thus are deserving equal rights with heterosexuals.
In the meanwhile, on Wednesday in Moscow a spokesman for the Orthodox Church, Vsevolod Chaplin, urged teachers to teach children not to follow “the vicious examples of homosexuals and prostitutes."
Russian Orthodox church is currently involved in a struggle to put it grasp on Russian society and infiltrate public schools. Chaplin’s remarks come after ten leading academics wrote to President Vladimir Putin in late July to protest the introduction of a new subject on “Christian Orthodox culture” into school classes. The church also staged an initiative to give Russian universities the power to award degrees in theology.
