In Petersburg ultra-rightwing extremists attack LGBT activists and a bus of migrant workers

During the course of a “Rainbow Flashmob” organized by LGBT activists in honor of an anti-homophobia day held May 17, 2012 in Saint Petersburg, a group of young men shot pistols at participants in the action and attacked a bus carrying migrant workers.

Twenty minutes after the flashmob began in Petrovsky Park, several groups of aggressive young men in masks appeared, shouting, “Sodomites, get out of Peter,” “We’ll hang you and bury you!” and anti-police slogans. One of the attackers, a law student at Saint Petersburg State University, arrived at the park with an enormous wooden cross, shouting “Hang Yavlinsky! Jail Alekseev! Yabloko are bastards!” According to reports, the police approached him and “politely asked him not to swear.”

The young men threw bottles, smoke bombs, and firecreackers at activists and journalists, and shot them with a traumatic weapon.

According to reports, at least one person was shot. Boris Romanov was shot in the face from a gas pistol. His attackers were arrested and charged under article 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism.)

The crowd continued to advance on the activists with shouts of “We will hang you and bury you!” as the police stood in a cordoned-off area, driving away the ultra-rightists. On the bridge nationalists stood in ambush, with stones and sticks in their hands. In consideration of the dangerous situation, all of the LGBT-movement activists were removed from Petrovsky Park in buses.

On the Zhdanovsky embankment, the ultra-rightists attacked two buses carrying migrant workers. The attackers threw lit flares, stones, and bottles. In one of the buses they broke glass and slashed tires, and the young men jumped around inside the bus, beating the workers. Some of the workers tried to hide, while others escaped. The police did not interfere with the proceedings.

The attackers also used a bottle to break the glass of passing cars. An Orthodox student wearing a cross told a Peter.TV correspondent that he supported the rioters who were beating the bus passengers.

Sources:

• Migrant workers attacked in the place of gays // Peter.TV. 2012. May 17.
• E. Zubarev. Police allow attackers to take out their anger on migrants in the place of gays // Peter.TV. 2012. May 18.