Elena Kostyuchenko: “About the United Russia parade”

“Last week, immediately after my arrest, a young man called me. He said: I want to get advice about holding a gay pride parade in Yaroslavl. I was surprised. Of course, there is an LGBT community in my native Yaroslavl. But it is quite closed, it’s difficult to come out of hiding I’m not in a hurry. Before this, we only had educational events in the city, like distributing leaflets for the “day of silence.” And then there was a parade.

We met and had coffee. It turned out the following.

The young man is a Muscovite and has nothing to do with Yaroslavl. The event itself is custom-made, with a budget. The customers, according to his description, are two businessmen from United Russia, originally from Yaroslavl, but now live in Moscow."