Elton John To Play St. Petersburg In November

Legendary British singer/songwriter Elton John performing in St. Petersburg in 2011

Concert organizers have announced that British singer Elton John will perform in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, in November.

A St. Petersburg lawmaker, Vitaly Milonov, said on February 10 that he hopes the musician will refrain from commenting "on the subject of the gay community in Russia."

Milonov is the author of a controversial bill that bans the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" among minors, which became a federal law last summer.

The passage of the law is widely seen as contributing to the persecution of sexual minorities in Russia.

In December, John, who is openly gay, dedicated a concert in Moscow to a 23-year-old Russian man, Vladislav Tornovoi, who was beaten to death in Volgograd for his sexual orientation.



Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Interfax