Russian LGBT Activists Pull of Protest in Spite of Police Interference
Somehow, I wound up doing two translations of two articles dealing with LGBT rights in a row. But I can't help it if that sort of stuff keeps making Russian digital news.
According to Bumaga (Paper), an online newspaper covering my home town of St. Petersburg, LGBT activists attempted to stage a protest at Mayakovskaya station, one of the busiest stations in St. Petersburg subway. Again, I've translated the original article directly, with photos embedded along with it.
Police Interrupted LGBT Activists' Protest Action in the Subway
LGBT activists attempted to conduct a protest in the subway earlier today. The protest, which was tied in with the Sochi Olympics, would involve releasing colorful balloons at one of the subway stations. At approximately 19:00 [7:00 PM), two young people went down to Mayakovskaya station, each holding a few dozen balloons. Once they reached the platform, police officers asked activists to leave the station because, they claimed, that the balloons could get into the ventilation system.
The protest was planned as part of a flash mob that would involved LGBT activists from other countries, and it would involve them performing the same actions in subways in London, Paris - 19 cities total.
The organizers kept the flash mob secret, but it seemed that the police knew about the planned protest ahead of time. According to witness testimony, police assembled in front of the Gostinyi Dvor station [Translator's note - the 2nd busiest station in St Petersburg subway] at around 18:00 (6:00 PM), and there was a prison transport in front of the entrance. There have been reports that the protest is being moved to Sporivnaya station, but a large number of police officers was observed there, too.
That might have been the end of it. But a bit later, Bumaga did a follow-up.
LGBT Activists Pull Off a Protest Tied to Olympics After All
LGBT activists who weren't able to do a protests at the subway conduced a protest at Malaya Konyushnaya street [Translator's Note - a prominent pedestrian street in St. Petersburg's historic center]. Instead of releasing balloons at the subway station, the young people conducted a picket - two activists held "Berlin 1936 = Sochi 2014" poster at each end of the street.
Flashmob at Mayakovskaya station was interrupted because the young people with balloons were asked to leave the platform. When the LGBT activists protested, the police [temporarily] held them for the purpose of completing the police report.
Photos from the article embedded below:
According to Bumaga (Paper), an online newspaper covering my home town of St. Petersburg, LGBT activists attempted to stage a protest at Mayakovskaya station, one of the busiest stations in St. Petersburg subway. Again, I've translated the original article directly, with photos embedded along with it.
Police Interrupted LGBT Activists' Protest Action in the Subway
LGBT activists attempted to conduct a protest in the subway earlier today. The protest, which was tied in with the Sochi Olympics, would involve releasing colorful balloons at one of the subway stations. At approximately 19:00 [7:00 PM), two young people went down to Mayakovskaya station, each holding a few dozen balloons. Once they reached the platform, police officers asked activists to leave the station because, they claimed, that the balloons could get into the ventilation system.
The protest was planned as part of a flash mob that would involved LGBT activists from other countries, and it would involve them performing the same actions in subways in London, Paris - 19 cities total.
The organizers kept the flash mob secret, but it seemed that the police knew about the planned protest ahead of time. According to witness testimony, police assembled in front of the Gostinyi Dvor station [Translator's note - the 2nd busiest station in St Petersburg subway] at around 18:00 (6:00 PM), and there was a prison transport in front of the entrance. There have been reports that the protest is being moved to Sporivnaya station, but a large number of police officers was observed there, too.
That might have been the end of it. But a bit later, Bumaga did a follow-up.
LGBT Activists Pull Off a Protest Tied to Olympics After All
LGBT activists who weren't able to do a protests at the subway conduced a protest at Malaya Konyushnaya street [Translator's Note - a prominent pedestrian street in St. Petersburg's historic center]. Instead of releasing balloons at the subway station, the young people conducted a picket - two activists held "Berlin 1936 = Sochi 2014" poster at each end of the street.
Flashmob at Mayakovskaya station was interrupted because the young people with balloons were asked to leave the platform. When the LGBT activists protested, the police [temporarily] held them for the purpose of completing the police report.
Photos from the article embedded below: