In March, a law banning homosexual "propaganda" was approved in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg. While the coming months will tell how the ban will be applied, experts are already predicting that more gay and lesbian Russians will be pushed to seek asylum in the West. Protesters on both sides of the issue have made their voices heard in Russia over the past year.
The Fight For Gay Rights In Russia
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A man brutally attacks a gay-rights activist during an unsanctioned gay-pride parade in St. Petersburg on June 25, 2011.
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Plain-clothes police officers detain gay-rights activist Daniel Choi (center) near the Kremlin during an unsanctioned gay-pride parade in central Moscow on May 28, 2011.
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Police force gay-rights activist Daniel Choi into a police vehicle as they detain him near the Kremlin during an unsanctioned gay-pride parade in central Moscow on May 29, 2011.
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Activists hold a demonstration to protest a gay-pride parade in Moscow on May 21, 2011. The placard reads: "Russia Without Pederasts."
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A gay-rights activist holds a placard displaying the image of 19th-century composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky during an unsanctioned protest rally to defend the rights of Russian gays and lesbians in St. Petersburg on April 7.
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A member of the Russian art collective Voina tries to silence a man yelling, "Moscow without gays!"
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Police officers detain a gay-rights activist who tried to protest against antigay legislation in St. Petersburg on April 6, 2012.
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A gay-rights activist holds a rainbow flag onboard a motor boat during a gay-pride parade in St. Petersburg on June 25, 2011.
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Gay-rights activists take part in a rally against homophobic laws in the central Arbat area in Moscow on March 10, 2012.
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Police arrest a gay-rights activist as he holds a poster reading "Homophobia Is A Disease" during an unsanctioned gay-pride rally in St. Petersburg on June 25, 2011.
