Minsk Pride

Minsk Gay Pride
LocationMinsk, Belarus
Founded1999
LanguageRussian, Belarusian, English
Websitehttp://www.pride.gaybelarus.by

Minsk Pride (Belarusian: Беларусь Гей Прайд, romanized: Belarus Gey Prayd) is a gay pride event held in Minsk, Belarus. It was founded in 1999 to promote tolerance for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in Belarus and to advocate for human rights and civil equality regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

History

Belarus Gay Pride 1999

The first Belarusian Pride Festival, "Belarus Gay Pride," was held in Minsk from September 6 to 9, 1999.[1] It was organized by the unregistered Belarusian League for Sexual Equality "Lambda" and the magazine for gays and lesbians Forum Lambda. The festival was supported by the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus and the IREX organization.[2]

The program included a journalists' seminar on LGBT representation in the media, a conference on the rights of gays and lesbians in Belarus and internationally, a photography and film exhibition, and a travesti competition called "Transmission"—the first such competition in Belarus. The jury included singer Ina Afanasyeva, human rights defender Lyubov Lunyova, journalist Irina Khalip, and actress Zoya Belakhvostik.[2] During one of the festival parties at the Titanic club, riot police raided the venue and searched the participants. Approximately 500 people attended the events.[3]

Belarus Gay Pride 2000

The second Pride festival was planned as the largest to date, scheduled for September 7–10, 2000, on the eve of parliamentary elections. However, authorities banned the planned march 24 hours before its scheduled start, citing the organizers' failure to obtain a permit in time.[4] Most activities were cancelled under pressure from the Russian Orthodox Church, including a fashion show, performances by Minsk and international artists, the "Miss DIVA-2000" contest, and a planned male strip show championship.

On the opening night, police raided the Aquarium club, cut the lights during an art performance, and ordered participants to leave. In the following days, authorities shuttered the festival's press center and cancelled film screenings at city cinemas. Organizers and attendees were escorted from buildings under plainclothes police surveillance, and communications with human rights organizations and the media were disrupted.[5][3]

Despite the repression, some events took place outdoors. After one seminar, participants laid flowers at the Eternal Flame in Victory Square in memory of gays and lesbians killed by the Nazis during World War II. A press conference was also successfully held outside the City Opera House, attended by independent media, at which Belarusian and Swedish activists condemned the authorities' actions. The festival closed on September 9 with a ceremony held in a Minsk club despite official opposition.[5]

Belarus Gay Pride 2001

The third festival was held in Minsk from September 2 to 9, 2001.[6] The opening ceremony was held on September 2 at the Babylon club and featured a speech by poet and artist Adam Globus, who remarked that the festival represented hope for change in a country under dictatorship.[7]

The festival screened four films by French director François Ozon at the Victory cinema, including Sitcom, Criminal Lovers, Under the Sand, and Drops of Rain on Hot Stones. The 500-seat hall was filled to capacity each day.

On September 5, participants held a public memorial at the site of the former Trostenets concentration camp near Minsk to honor gay victims of the Nazis.

On September 7, the day before presidential elections in Belarus, the first pride march in the country's history took place along Independence Avenue (then called Skaryna Avenue) from the Belarusian State Circus to Panikowski Park at October Square. Estimates of attendance ranged from 500 to 2,000 people.[7] Organizers emphasized the festive character of the event, calling it a "Love Parade" rather than a gay pride march. The action was supported by the Belarusian Federation of Anarchists, the "Different–Equal" association, and the Belarusian Social Democratic Youth "Maladaya Hramada."[8] The festival received financial support from Stockholm Pride.[9]

The closing ceremony was held on September 9 at the Babylon club. Three people distributing promotional materials for the Love Parade were briefly detained by police but released. Some foreign visitors from Germany and Sweden were denied visas, reportedly due to the upcoming presidential election.

Belarus Gay Pride 2002

The fourth festival, "Belarus Gay Pride 2002," was held in Minsk in September 2002 and organized by the Belarusian League for Sexual Equality "Lambda," Forum Lambda magazine, and the Belarusian gay website "ApaGay."[10] Prior to the festival, festival leader Edward Tarletsky was summoned to a police station and warned that police would not be responsible for consequences if a street march took place and that he could face criminal prosecution.

Held under the slogan "Create Yourself Another" as part of a national "Youth Against Homophobia" campaign, the festival did not include a street march. Events included a conference titled "Homosexuality in Belarus," a fashion show, a lecture on French literature and homosexuality, a lesbian party, the travesti contest "Miss DIVA-2002," an evening of poetry, and a concert called "Musicians Against Homophobia." This was the last festival held under the "Belarus Gay Pride" name.

Later events

Minsk Gay Pride 2008

On October 11, 2008, an LGBT Pride event was held in Minsk under the slogan "Be able to be! Be able to love! Be able to be proud." The march was timed to the International Day of Coming Out and organized by the Belarusian Initiative for Sexual and Gender Equality, with support from the Antifa and Socialist Resistance movements. The procession, attended by approximately 30 people, marched from Yakub Kolas Square to October Square.[11]

Slavic Pride 2010

Nationalist counter-protesters blocking the entrance to the Crowne Plaza hotel during the opening of "Slavic Gay Pride 2010," Minsk, May 2010

The second Slavic Gay Pride, organized jointly by Russian and Belarusian LGBT activists, was held in Minsk from May 14 to 17, 2010.[12] The opening event on May 14 at the Crowne Plaza hotel featured the Eastern European premiere of the Canadian documentary Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride. Dozens of nationalist protesters gathered outside, and an anonymous bomb threat briefly interrupted the screening.

On May 15, approximately 40 activists marched about 400 meters along Surganova Street carrying a 12-meter rainbow flag. After a brief peaceful rally, Minsk special forces dispersed the marchers, confiscated the flag, and arrested several participants.[13] Belarusian co-organizer Sergey Androsenko and three local activists were later detained at a restaurant. A closing party that evening recognized Louis-Georges Tin, president of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) committee, with a human rights award.[14]

Minsk Gay Pride 2011

"Minsk Gay Pride 2011" was held from October 11 to 23, 2011, comprising more than 20 events across human rights, educational, cultural, and entertainment programs.[15] The opening ceremony on October 11, International Coming Out Day, was attended by civil society representatives, journalists, and diplomats, and featured the premiere of the documentary The Jury directed by Vladimir Ivanov. The Belarusian Free Theatre presented a play about sexuality entitled New York '79 – Minsk 2011.

On October 22, roughly 20 LGBT activists gathered in the Shabany district, marched approximately 40 meters along the highway waving rainbow flags, and launched a 20-meter rainbow flag on balloons. The march took place in defiance of a city ban; organizers had withheld the location for safety reasons.

Minsk Gay Pride 2012

"Minsk Gay Pride 2012," held under the slogan "The Right to Be Yourself!" took place from October 5 to 11, 2012, with 15 events.[16] The opening ceremony on October 5 was attended by at least 100 people, including representatives from the Netherlands Embassy and Belarusian human rights organizations.

The sixth Belarusian LGBT Conference, an international interdisciplinary event titled "Queer Sexuality: Policy and Practice," brought together experts from Belarus, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Latvia, and other European countries.[17] On October 11, activists from the LGBT Human Rights Project "GayBelarus" decorated a tram with rainbow balloons and flags and rode it across the capital in a public demonstration of support for the LGBT community.[18]

Minsk Pride 2022

In August 2022, a video was published online announcing Minsk Pride 2022.[19] In October 2022, the LGBT Human Rights Project "GayBelarus" launched a petition calling on authorities to grant permission for a public action in support of tolerance toward the LGBT community in Belarus.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "In Minsk started "Belarus Gay Pride" 1999". gaybelarus.by. 6 September 1999. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 News Article: Gays and Lesbians to Stage a Festival in Minsk Archived 24 February 2001 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 "Gay and Lesbian Issues in Belarus". A Belarus Miscellany. 9 September 2000. Archived from the original on 24 February 2001.
  4. ↑ "Belarus authorities prohibit "Belarus Gay Pride" 2000". Gay Today. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  5. 1 2 "In Minsk was held second Pride festival "Belarus Gay Pride" 2000". Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Правядзеньне ў Мінску першага Pride-параду" [Holding the first Pride parade in Minsk]. gaybelarus.by (in Belarusian). 7 September 2001. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Часопіс Makeout. 6 студзеня 2014". Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  8. ↑ В Белоруссии пройдет карнавальное шоу геяў
  9. ↑ В день выборов президента Белоруссии в Минске пройдет гей-парад
  10. ↑ "В Минске стартовал фестиваль "Гей-прайд 2002"". gay.ru (in Russian). 21 September 2002. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Gay pride took place in Minsk". gay.ru. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  12. ↑ Середа, Андрей (8 May 2010). "Власти Минска запретили шествие "Славянский гей-прайд 2010"". tut.by (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "В Минске разогнали "Славянский гей-парад"". lenta.ru (in Russian). 15 May 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Основатель Международного дня против гомофобии получил награду "Slavic Pride"". gaybelarus.by (in Belarusian). 31 May 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Pulsha, Syarhey (23 October 2011). "Gay activists stage pride march on Minsk's outskirts". naviny.by. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  16. ↑ Bortnik, Viachaslau (3 October 2012). "Minsk Gay Pride 2012 will take place from 5-11 October". ILGA Europe. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  17. ↑ Шевелева, Анастасия (6 October 2012). "Квир-Сексуальность: Политики И Практики". nlobooks.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Гей-прайд прокатился по Минску на трамвае". belmy.by (in Russian). 11 October 2012. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "В сети появился ролик Минского гей-прайда 2013". gayby.net (in Russian). 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "Начался сбор подписей в поддержку девятого Минского прайда". gayby.net (in Russian). 23 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
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