St. Petersburg ombudsman Alexander Shishlov has presented his 2014 annual report on human rights in the local Legislative Assembly. A separate chapter of the report highlights multiple cases of LGBT discrimination in St. Petersburg.

Shishlov cited 36 cases of attacks on LGBT people. Of these, 30 occurred during public events. In particular, he mentioned an attempt to disrupt the LGBT rally in St. Petersburg. Nevertheless, Shishlov acknowledged “the professional work of police officers,” which helped the rally to be held without significant violations of law. However, the Ombudsman said that “hostile opponents of LGBT movement insulted LGBT activists before and after the event, prevented passage of the rally participants to the place of the meeting, threw stones and grabbed away placards.” Read More