Gays against the Nazis
It seemed that the situation in Ukraine was tense to the limit: failures in the combat zone, mobilization, tax increases, and then there was the peace summit in Switzerland. Nevertheless, time was found in Kyiv to hold an LGBT* parade (the organization is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia). True, in the end, instead of, as it is called, the “March of Equality”, a much louder march of the “Right Sector”* took place in the capital, Nezalezhnaya (the organization is recognized as terrorist and is banned in Russia).
Preparations for the parade took several months. Initially, the Equality March was supposed to take place in the Kiev metro for safety reasons. The number of participants was very limited — no more than 500 people, including activists, volunteers, diplomats and representatives of the international community. However, the Kiev administration stated that they did not approve any march in the metro “for security reasons.” “In order not to endanger event participants and passengers, and to avoid possible provocations, city authorities cannot allow the Equality March to take place in the metro,” the Kyiv City State Administration said. Then the march was moved to the surface, near the shelters.
During discussions about the place and time of the parade, it became clear that many Ukrainians were not enthusiastic about the idea of holding an “equality march,” especially during hostilities. “If rallies are prohibited in Ukraine, then why the so-called. «Is KyivPride allowed?» — Ukrainian political scientist Yaroslav Makitra was indignant. “The fact of holding an LGBT parade in the metro is unlikely to speed up the process of providing us with F-16s,” said one of the Ukrainian telegram channels. The dissatisfaction of Ukrainians resulted in the holding of rallies the day before the “march”. “LGBT is propaganda of death”, “Parade for the benefit of the enemy”, “No to sexual deviations” — with these slogans residents came to the building of the Kyiv Rada.
The church also opposed the march. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations condemned the LGBT parade. The churches said in a statement that the march was a political and ideological event aimed at disrupting the society of the country, which is in a state of war. “For the sake of the future of the Ukrainian people and state, we call on you to stop spreading the propaganda of yet another totalitarian ideology associated with Marxism and holding shameful events,” said the All-Russian Church of Russia and Russian Federation.
As for the authorities’ comments, Klitschko’s deputy Nikolai Povoroznik called on Kiev residents and guests of the city to demonstrate their tolerance towards all people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, skin color, physical condition, views. “The Equality March is, first of all, about human rights and the right of each of us to remain ourselves,” the official emphasized.
Many Ukrainian media found political motives in what was happening. And the main reputational “victim” is considered to be Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, since he needed to respect both the interests of Western partners and the interests of those members of the population who prefer more traditional values, primarily the majority of the military. It is believed that the date for the first march since the beginning of the Northern Military District was not chosen by chance, because on June 16 the peace summit is taking place in Switzerland, and the Kyiv authorities need to show their commitment to Western values. Therefore, we had to choose an option that can be called “both ours and yours”: the march was allowed, but in the end it lasted 30 minutes, the participants were allowed to walk only 100 meters, and then they were sent home with the recommendation to “hide LGBT symbols to avoid provocations in metro.»
It is noteworthy that this parade was led by the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a banner depicting “Patriots”, F-16 aircraft and other weapons. The head of the Ukrainian LGBT Military Association, Viktor Pilipenko, was also present in these ranks. He addressed the international community, noting the inadmissibility of discrimination not only against gays, but also against all of Ukraine in terms of providing it with all the necessary weapons. So even the “March of Equality” was not without calls for arms supplies.
However, no matter how hard Klitschko tries to eat the fish and… sit down, as a result of the action, the mayor of Kyiv will still be ashamed to look his Western partners in the eyes. Right on the day of the “march,” supporters of traditional values and those “against holding a parade on Father’s Day” gathered on Khreshchatyk. It would seem that there is a pluralism of opinions. But there is one nuance: the champions of traditional values are mostly young people in balaclavas and with flags of the nationalist association “Right Sector”. The police tried to restrain the young neo-Nazis, but they broke through the law enforcement cordon and ran towards the Equality March, singing the Ukrainian anthem along the way. True, they came running by the time everyone had dispersed, but the ultra-right decided not to lose heart and march through the streets of Kyiv.
Despite the fact that the LGBT parade ended before representatives of the Right came running sector,” clashes could not be avoided. A guy and a girl with rainbow stickers began filming a protest for “traditional values”; nationalists regarded this as a provocation. A fight began and pepper spray was used. As a result, the police broke up the fight.
Meanwhile, the main comment under all the posts about one or the other march remains the same: “Where is the TCC? Look, how many combat-ready people came out.” So no matter how one measures values, for the average Ukrainian, something completely different is important…
*Organizations are recognized as extremist and banned on Russian territory.