Russian gays, lesbians protest against homophobia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A small group of gays and lesbians rallied in Moscow on Sunday to protest against what they said was officially sanctioned homophobia in Russia.

About 20 people gathered in front of a monument to Russian 19th century composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky near the Moscow Conservatory. Many held rainbow flags.

"We have gathered in a very symbolic place to pay tribute to a person who was gay himself and at the same time had to conceal it because of repressive laws and disapproval in society," Nikolai Alexeyev, a protest organiser, told journalists.

Tchaikovsky, a Romantic-era composer and the author of Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet, is believed by most of his biographers to have been homosexual.

Moscow's influential Mayor Yuri Luzhkov had repeatedly banned this year's "Gay Pride" parade proposed by Russian gays and lesbians, who had originally planned to march along the central Tverskaya Street to demand their rights.

"Luzhkov has always stressed that Russian society does not accept such things," Interfax news agency quoted a senior Moscow municipal official as saying. "A gay parade is primarily dangerous to the participants themselves."

Homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia in 1993, and although some gay clubs exist in big cities, same-sex couples almost never make a public display of their affection.

Two years ago police, militant Orthodox Christians and neo-fascists attacked and violently broke up the first ever gay rights march in Moscow.

In Tverskaya, a lonely splashy slogan hung from the windows of one of the buildings, reading: "Rights for gays and lesbians!"