Coming Out

In regards to the questions coming to us about the announced for June 26 gay pride in St. Petersburg LGBT Organisation “Coming Out” states:

We are not organisers of this event. We do not have information about the time when and place where it will be held. We believe that everyone has the right to decide themselves whether or not to participate in a certain action.

The liberty of peaceful gatherings is one of the fundamental human rights. As a human right organisation we will monitor the situation and are willing to provide legal counseling help to those whose rights will be violated.

Traditionally LGBT community of St. Petersburg holds a “Week Against Homophobia”. This year it will take place from April 5 till 11. This year the Week’s slogan is “We are for Russia for all! We are for Russia without homophobia!”

The program of the Week Against Homophobia:

On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination coalition Xenophobii.NET (No to xenophobia) organises a flashmob to encourage friendship between people and nations.

On March 21 at 14-00 everybody is invited to come to the Palace square and join the circle-dance simbolising friendship and trust between all people. The coalition wants to demonstrate that all of us are unique individuals but we want to live in a world where people respect each other, that we all live on the same planet and have common problems and pleasures.

[ 27/03/2010; 18:00:00 to 22:00:00. ]
Dear friends,

On March 27 at 18.00 “ComingOutCinema” invites you to watch a documentary about the first open gay politician Harvey Milk, and to reflect afterwards about what methods and tactics would be most efficient in struggling for gays’ and lesbians’ rights in Russia.

From March 19 till March 29, 2010 coalition “Xenophobii.Net” (No to xenophobia) holds a series of events in St. Petersburg joining the European week against racisn and xenophobia and Russian week against homophobia.
The work of the coalition “Xenophobii.Net” is based on the following principles:
- unacceptability of discrimination on any grounds, including race, nationality, citizenship, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or their absence, age, health condition;
- criticising ideas, not people;
- non-violence;
- independence of any political party.

You can learn more about the program of events on the coalition’s pages in VKontake and in the LiveJournal.

If you are a mother or if you are going to become one, let us invite you to our “All about Maternal Rights” seminar that will be held on March 18, 2010, at 7 p. m.

An experienced lawyer with a large practice will preside over the seminar.

• What are the maternity rights?
• How one can apply for the maternity leave?
• How one can apply for the child support or maternity benefits?
• Are you being discriminated because of your pregnancy?

…and many other questions will be discussed at the seminar.

Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders bringing up children (parents) are one of the most socially vulnerable groups in the LGBT-community. However there is no authentic data either about this group’s numbers or real problems they face. All organization’s work with parents is based on the fragmentary data received both from the Internet, personal contact and from the experience and intuition of project curators working with the present group. One more source of the information is the results of the western research of LGBT-parents which certainly can’t be considered completely appropriate for the Russian validity. This circumstance makes worse essentially both efficiency and quality of the work since it is carried out practically blindly. For overcoming of this situation the complex research of LGBT-parents’ group is necessary.

No city will see it twice…

Author of two poem collections and two novels, Lia Kirgetova decided to try poetry drama on stage. “Deeper” never happens twice… St. Pete is lucky again.

You’ve got the chance to get to know Kirgetova “Deeper” on March 12 at 20.00 in “Pamela” club, 5th Sovetskaya 45.

Reserve a place here .

See you.

Dear friends,

In January, 2010 our Organization will mark one year from the moment of the state registration and almost two years since the small initiative group of like-minded people, who were “not indifferent to their present and who were ready to work for change of the future”, has gathered. I remind that the first meeting of this group took place in March, 30th, 2008 during the Week Against Homophobia.

2009. Summary of LGBT-activists work in St. Petersburg.

In 2009 St. Petersburg saw a record number of different events and actions aimed at fighting homophobia and discrimination of LGBT community - lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.