A tiny village known as Yablonevy in Russia was set to hold the nation's first officially approved LGBTQ+ Pride parade but the permission was denied by local authorities. The government of Novoulyanovsk holds jurisdiction over the village so its mayor approved the Pride parade which activists originally wanted to hold in that city's center but then decided against. In order to avoid conflict, they decided to move the parade to Yablonevy, a small town in Russia with 7 residents. However, the city manager overrode the decision to have the parade and claimed their permit was invalid because he had not been consulted before the city change had been made.
The city manager, Gennady Denikayev, said:
"I made a decision, there will be no gay parade. We intend to protect traditional family values and, foremost, our children from the propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations."
That type of "propaganda" was explcitly banned by 2013 Russian law when they stated that any positive mention of LGBTQ+ rights or identity is prohibited. All attempts to hold Pride events in major Russian cities have been banned by the government. However, there was a "rogue" Pride rally held in St. Petersburg in 2017 that was not approved by authorities. Since the city of Moscow issued a ban in 2012, gay Pride parades have been banned for the next hundred years.
h/t: Advocate, ProudOut.com
Funny, but here in Vancouver,
Funny, but here in Vancouver, BC, our Pride Parade was sponsored by Stoli Vodka. I'd say they sold-out to the highest bidders, with no consideration for the plight of our Russian brothers and sisters.