A Good Judge
By Anton Orekh
November 27, 2012
Yezhednevny Zhurnal

“…We have many more of them – remember them” – these are lyrics from a song about good people. And it seems these days there actually is reason to remember such good people.

It was Natalia Pereverzeva who unexpectedly uttered these words about our home country at a recent and utterly banal beauty pageant. As it turned out, the words were her own; composed without the advice of any talent agent. And indeed, what young talent agent would advise a beautiful pageant hopeful to write about poor, pillaged Russia? You do not build a career with lyrics like that. But while Natalia did not win the competition, she instead left with something much more valuable than a prop-room tiara.

In St. Petersburg, we find among our ranks another such good person – local Judge Vitaly Barkovsky, who was chosen to preside over a truly idiotic, comical and by all accounts shameful lawsuit. I am, of course, referring to the suit brought by the “gentlemen” of the so-called Union of Russian Citizens against pop-music star Madonna. While one might accuse the union representatives of “intellectual deficiencies,” they nonetheless filed quite a brazen lawsuit, all the more relevant since it dealt with the so-called “struggle against homosexuals.” In St. Petersburg, this struggle is indeed mainstream; it is the official ideology in the house of the “governor-goon.”

The hearing was scheduled and rescheduled numerous times, due to the explainable truancy of the “defendant.” In the pop-star’s absence, the plaintiffs maintained their arrogance and smugness as best they could, and though only one of the ten present had actually attended the concert in question, they priced their incomprehensible moral outrage and collective suffering at 333 million rubles ($10.7 million). After the investigation began, the union even expanded their charges of “propagandizing homosexual love” to also include “undermining the Russian demographic” and “compromising Russia’s defense capacity.”

Judge Barkovsky could easily have encouraged this kind of nonsense. He could have requested a whole new set of hearings or further examinations. He could have called witnesses, giving the stage and a circus spotlight to a whole new group of contemptible idiots. In this way, Judge Barkovsky could have easily shown the powers that be what a helpful and diligent defender he was of the rubbish passing for Petersburg law.

But Barkovsky unexpectedly turned out to be a different kind of judge. Oddly enough, he turned out to be a judge of the levelheaded variety. He turned out to be the type of judge who would dare make the only truly logical ruling, even within the confines of illogical laws. The court was adjourned after only a single hearing, but due process was not constrained by the rigid truism that “rubbish is always rubbish.” Barkovsky’s well-developed sense of humor shined through and he did not deny himself the pleasure of mocking the “citizens” from the Union filing the lawsuit.

Thanks to Judge Barkovsky, the case hearing turned out to be a thrilling, captivating, and brilliantly hilarious affair. Highlighting that many see phallic symbols even in everyday kielbasa, that the embrace and passionate kiss shared by sailors in Petersburg on Navy Day each year did not seem to bother any of the plaintiffs, and that none among the union representatives could produce any chart that defined moral suffering by level of intensity, Barkovsky not only denied the plaintiffs the satisfaction of a victory, he actually fined them! And what a fantastic sum – 22 thousand, 22 rubbles and 22 kopeks ($710.39), and 16 thousand rubbles and 16 kopeks ($51.62)! A great judge! Well done!

Of course, this was not some heroic deed. And the case in question is not equal in scope to, say, the Yukos affair. But it would have been so much easier for Judge Barkovsky to rule in the style of thousands of his peers across the country, handing down a ridiculous sentence that contradicted all common sense, logic, factual evidence, and legal norms. These judges, Barkovsky’s peers, are not afraid to be spat upon and cursed. They do not fear mockery. In order to please their superiors, they are prepared to do almost anything. Barkovsky, however, was not prepared to follow suit. What is more, and I must reiterate this, Barkovsky did not simply quietly throw out the case. He took pleasure in making the hearing a spectacle to the greatest degree possible, and for Petersburg, this is an especially notable demonstration.

Translation by theotherrussia.org.

Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe reports:

The European Court of Human Rights has slapped a fine on Russia for banning homosexual rallies in Moscow, handing an unprecedented victory to the country’s marginalized homosexual community.

Leading Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekseyev had lodged a complaint with the court after unsuccessfully challenging the bans in Russian courts.

Speaking to RFE/RL, Alekseyev hailed the ruling as a “grandiose success” not only for homosexuals but for all Russian citizens.

“We consider this a defeat of Russian homophobia on all fronts,” Alekseyev says.

“Now Russia will have to allow gay prides in Moscow but also change its legislation with regard to legal defense in case a public gathering is banned.”

In a statement issued on October 21, the Strasbourg-based court said Russia had breached the European Convention on Human Rights, which the country formally adheres to as a member of the Council of Europe.

The court said the Moscow government’s argument that a gay pride parade risked sparking clashes with antigay protesters was “not sufficient to justify” its ban, adding that forbidding gay-rights marches and pickets was “not necessary in a democratic society.”

Its judges ruled that Russia had violated rights of assembly, discriminated against sexual orientation, and denied Alekseyev’s right to legal redress. It ordered Russian authorities to pay the activist 29,510 euros ($41,000) in damages and legal fees.

Last month, Alekseyev went missing for two days, before reappearing in Moscow claiming he had been kidnapped by unidentified men, who had tried to pressure him into dropping his case at the Strasbourg court.

Attempts to hold gay parades in Moscow have been marred by violence and arrests.

Moscow’s recently-sacked mayor Yury Luzhkov had said the rallies, which he described as the “work of Satan,” would never take place under his rule.

Alekseyev now hopes the landmark ruling will encourage new Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who was approved by lawmakers for the post on October 21, to take a softer line on gay rights.

Although Russia decriminalized homosexuality in the early 1990s, there is still little tolerance for gays and lesbians in Russia, where many are opposed to gay parades.

Not all gay-rights activists, either, support such gatherings, saying they will bring more trouble than they are worth.

Several other cases filed by Alekseyev and other gay-rights activists are currently pending at the European Court of Human Rights, including a complaint regarding Russia’s ban on same-sex marriages.

While Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, who has denounced gay pride events as “satanic,” is perhaps the most visible public opponent to the parades, gay rights activists find themselves faced with similar problems all throughout the country.

Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe reports:

Russian gay rights activists have gathered at St. Petersburg’s world-famous Hermitage Museum for a brief unsanctioned rally that ended with a police raid and at least five detentions.

The three dozen or so protesters held their protest in the inner courtyard of the museum, where they unfurled banners and chanted slogans in front of tourists queuing up for tickets.

One of the banners read “Peter the First was bisexual.”

“We chanted: ‘Same-sex marriages without compromise,’ ‘Equality for gays and lesbians,’ ‘Homophobia is a national shame,’ and ‘Homophobia is a disease,'” Maria Yefremenkovo, the rally’s organizer, told RFE/RL’s Russian Service. “One young man treated us as pederasts, others just watched with some dismay and a few smiled.”

Using similar tactics to a gay rights protest in Moscow last month, organizers only revealed the location of the demonstration at the last moment to outwit riot police.

They say the subterfuge was needed to avoid a repeat of the violence that has marred previous attempts to hold Gay Pride parades, when police, nationalists, and ultra-Orthodox believers beat protesters.

The June 26 rally was nonetheless quickly broken up by police and five activists were briefly detained, including Yefremenkovo.

Homosexuality could be punished with prison in Soviet times. Russia has since decriminalized homosexuality but intolerance remains very widespread, with nationalists and ultra-Orthodox believers saying homosexuals should be punished or treated in hospital.

Polls have shown more than 80 percent of Russians regard homosexuality as immoral.

Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has described gay rallies as satanic and vowed not to allow them in his city.

Nikolai Alexeyev, founder of the Gayrussia.ru rights project and one of the event’s organizers, told Interfax on that he was told over the phone by the mayor’s office that the application for Moscow Pride had been turned down. Parades, protests, rallies, and other similar events require government sanction to be legally held in Russia; organizing an unsanctioned rally can lead to jail time.

The city did not appear to attempt to hide its flagrant violation of Russian law in banning Moscow Pride. “Contrary to the demands of acting legislation, the Moscow government did not propose any kind of alternative [locations] for holding the planned event to organizers of the march,” reads a statement on Gayrussia.ru.

Alexeyev said that he and his fellow organizers intend to file a complaint about the city’s decision with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. More immediately, he said they would appeal the decision in Moscow’s Tverskoy Court after receiving written confirmation that the parade has been banned.

“We’re going to try to get the case considered by the court before the date of the event – May 29,” Alexeyev said.

The Strasbourg Court is set to rule this year on three cases filed by Moscow Pride organizers against the city for banning their parades in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Their event was also prohibited in 2009, but 30 participants attempted to march in defiance of the ban. Five minutes after the beginning of the march, all 30 activists were arrested by OMON riot police.

Earlier, Alexeyev stated that if the Moscow city authorities refuse to sanction this year’s Moscow Pride parade, they would try to gain permission to hold it on the territory of an embassy of a Western country.

Moscow Mayor Luzhkov is famous for his vocal homophobia, routinely denouncing gay pride parades a “satanic activity.” In January, he vowed to ban what he called “the display of blasphemy under the guise of creativity and protected by the principle of freedom of speech” in Moscow on a permanent basis.

Russian gay rights advocates have suffered from strong public and governmental opposition dating back to Soviet times. In accordance with a Stalinist decree, homosexuality carried a sentence of up to five years in prison until 1993, when legislators legalized it at the urging of the Council of Europe. It remained on the list of Russian mental illnesses until 1999. While there are no laws explicitly banning homosexuality, government authorities have failed to recognize the need for anti-discrimination legislation. Public opinion remains strongly opposed to such reforms – as of 2005, 43.5 percent of Russians supported the re-criminalization of adult homosexual acts.

In a statement on Monday, the mayor expounded upon his history of banning the events, which activists have attempted to hold annually since 2006.

“It is impossible to gaze kindly upon the display of blasphemy under the guise of creativity and protected by the principle of freedom of speech,” said Luzhkov. “The activities of destructive cults are not allowed, and the propaganda of so-called unisexual love is unacceptable.”

“For several years, unprecedented pressure has been exercised on Moscow with the demand to hold a gay parade here,” the mayor went on, “which can be called nothing more than a satanic activity. We have not allowed such parades and will not allow them in the future.”

“Everyone should take this not as theory, but as an axiom,” he concluded.

Nikolai Alexeyev, founder of the Gayrussia.ru rights project and organizer of the Moscow Pride annual parades, said that the city’s sexual minority was prepared to hold a march in Moscow on May 29, and had already prepared the necessary application. He added that guests from other countries had been invited to the event, following suit with previous years’ parades.

An attempt to hold Moscow Pride in May 2009 ended with the arrest of all 30 participants, including Alexeyev and British human rights activist Peter Tatchell.

Russian gay rights advocates have suffered from strong public and governmental opposition dating back to Soviet times. In accordance with a Stalinist decree, homosexuality carried a sentence of up to five years in prison until 1993, when legislators legalized it at the urging of the Council of Europe. It remained on the list of Russian mental illnesses until 1999. While there are no laws explicitly banning homosexuality, authorities have failed to recognize the need for anti-discrimination legislation. Public opinion remains strongly opposed to such reforms – as of 2005, 43.5 percent of Russians supported the re-criminalization of adult homosexual acts.

The newspaper’s journalist, who responded to the ad and attended the casting call, was told that the May 6th event was a gay pride parade. Apparently, the organizers, who only gave their first names, wanted to disrupt a March of Dissent organized by the Russian opposition for the same day.

“Roman,” one of those leading the casting call, told the assembled that “this will be an action for all those that don’t agree with something (*see note below). Among the others, sexual minorities will announce their own protest. That’s why we need a group of 10 people, who will be able to act them out well. No one will force you to kiss each other or dance around in flamboyant costumes. It will be enough to walk through the street, smiling, with placards, in full view of everyone.”

The organizer noted that the role required an appropriate style of dress, and offered to provide chosen participants with “tight jeans and flowery shirts,” clip-on jewelry and make up.

Leaders of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) movement were not amused. Nikolai Alekseyev, who has tried to organize gay rights marches in Moscow, commented on the news to the Sobkor®ru news agency. “Evidently, the authorities want to kill two birds with one stone—to discredit both us and the “dissenters.” We are not planning any actions for May 6th and never pay activists to participate in our events. The LGBT community has no relation to these provocations.”

Previous attempts to stage a pride parade in Moscow have been systematically banned by the authorities. Representatives of the mayor’s office have said they will respond in a “decisive and uncompromising manner” if LGBT activists took to the streets. Still, the rights movement has vowed to challenge the decision in court and hold unsanctioned events throughout the month of May.

The opposition in Russia has repeatedly accused authorities and members of pro-Kremlin youth movements of acting as provocateurs during their demonstrations. Paid “protesters” have been caught holding outrageous placards, or acting in a way that allows police to shut down the event.

*Translation note: the wording here is very similar to “March of Dissent” in Russian (не согласен vs марш несогласных)

The press-service of the Mayor and the city government issued a harsh rebuke to the parade’s planners, promising to “thwart attempts to hold such events in a decisive and uncompromising manner, because the absolute majority of [Russian] society does not accept gay people’s lifestyle or their philosophy.” The statement went on to explain that “gay people want to deliberately bring discord,” by choosing May 1st to hold their gathering, and that “they are trying to impose their customs and principles on society.” The statement did not exclude the use of physical force to stop marchers. In a previous year, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov called pride parades “Satanic.”

Despite the ban, gay and lesbian rights activists pledged to march during the entire month of May, and express their Constitutional right to public assembly. Nikolai Alekseyev, one of the movement’s leaders, told the Sobkor®ru news agency that the group would also continue to challenge the ban in court. Previous hearings have failed to overturn a city-wide ban on Gay pride parades. “If the Moscow authorities had agreed to compromise, we would have limited ourselves to holding one event,” he said. Instead, he said the movement will now register 5 marches across the city for each day in May, in an effort to show the world that Russian authorities would not let homosexuals express themselves anywhere at any time.

According to Alekseyev, some 150 people were originally planning to march. He added that his group was in talks with delegates of the European Parliament, who had come to Russia to express their support in past years.

Homosexuality was only legalized in Russian in 2003, and remains a taboo topic for many Russians. Blatant discrimination against gays and lesbians is common, and past gay rights demonstrations have been attacked by ultra-nationalist groups. The Russian Orthodox Church has also spoken out against homosexuality, pledging to prevent any gay events in the country.