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DESCRIPTION:In a bid to promote the prominence of this May's Moscow Pride and thus 
 hopefully forestall threatened repression by the authorities, Russia's 
 foremost gay leader, Nikolai Alekseev, will tour seven U.S. cities February 
 26 thru March 7.  \n\nThe San Francisco event will be 5:30 - 7:30 PM, 
 Monday, March 7th at the San Francisco LGBT Center, 1800 Market 
 Street.\n\nFor the last five years, lesbian and gay activists in Russia 
 have faced beatings, government bans, intimidation and arrests simply for 
 trying to establish their right to demonstrate for equal rights, let alone 
 winning the rights themselves. \n\nJoining Alekseev on the tour will be 
 Andy Thayer of the Chicago direct-action group, Gay Liberation Network 
 (www.GayLiberation.net), which is the national sponsor of the tour.  Thayer 
 has participated in the last two illegal Moscow Pride and written 
 extensively on the subject.  Alekseev will also present the U.S. premiere 
 of a short film documenting the history of Moscow Pride.\n\nAll major 
 religious denominations and political parties in the country have called 
 for continued government repression of Moscow Pride. Yet after more than 
 five years of "illegal" protests and legal battles in the Russian and 
 international courts, in late October Alekseev's GayRussia organization 
 (www.GayRussia.ru) alone among the myriad opposition groups in the country 
 won the first-ever victory in the European Court of Human Rights.   The 
 European Court ruled that Russia had violated Russian LGBT's right to 
 assemble and order the government to pay GayRussia the equivalent of 
 $40,000 US.\n\nBut the Russian government appealed the Court's ruling and 
 yesterday Moscow's newly appointed mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, vowed to ban the 
 Pride demonstration anyway 
 (http://en.rian.ru/society/20110216/162636979.html).  A ruling on the 
 Russian government's appeal of the European Court decision is expected 
 before the May 28th demonstration.  Legal or "illegal," Russian lesbians 
 and gays have vowed to go forward with their protest.\n\nAssuming, as is 
 most likely, that the European court rejects the Russian government's 
 appeal, the Russian authorities will be confronted with a choice which will 
 reverberate far beyond LGBT issues: Either jeopardize closer ties to 
 Western Europe by ignoring the court ruling, or obey the ruling and gain 
 greater international legitimacy by being seen as a nation improving its 
 human rights record. The final answer will come on May 28 when GayRussia 
 has scheduled Moscow Pride 2011.\n\nOther cities in the tour are Chicago, 
 New York, Dallas, Fort Worth, West Hollywood and Palm Springs, CA.\n\nThe 
 San Francisco meeting is hosted by the San Francisco LGBT Community 
 Center.\n\nThe California portion of the tour is presented by Equality 
 California (EQCA) and Robin Tyler Productions, Inc.  The California 
 California Travel Sponsors are Nicole Murray Ramirez, San Diego City 
 Commissioner & The Imperial Court of Canada, United States and Mexico.  
 California co-sponsors are: Harvey Milk Foundation; Christopher Street 
 West; Marriage Equality USA; Get Equal; Equal Roots; Golden Rainbow Center 
 SAGE; Los Angeles Lesbian and Gay Center; San Diego LGBT Center; National 
 Center for Lesbian Rights; UCSF LGBT Center; Commonwealth Club of San 
 Francisco; Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club; Harvey Milk LGBT 
 Democratic Club; Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition; Jordan Rustin Coalition; 
 Jewish Community Relations Council, Kol Ami; IGLHRC Bay Area; and, Gays 
 Without Borders.\n\nFor information, including press availabilities, please 
 email the national tour sponsor, Gay Liberation Network, at 
 LGBTliberation@aol.com\n\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/02/19/18672502.php
SUMMARY:Russia's Foremost LGBT Visiting San Francisco!
LOCATION:San Francisco LGBT Center\n1800 Market Street
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/02/19/18672502.php
DTSTART:20110308T013000Z
DTEND:20110308T033000Z
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