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President Obama to Meet with LGBT Russians During G20 Summit

By Melanie Nathan, September 02, 2013.

Pic by Bill Wilson

Buzzfeed is reporting that President Obama will be meeting with Russian LGBT activists while in Russia. The President had cancelled a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin while there for the G20 summit. I agree with Buzfeed that Obama may anger the Kremlin further by meeting with Russian activists — including from LGBT groups. It is my hope that the President, however sticks to his plans:

Buzzfeed notes:

Following his cancellation of a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama may infuriate the Kremlin further by meeting Russian human rights activists, including LGBT rights groups, during his upcoming trip to St Petersburg for the G20 summit.

Four Russian non-governmental organizations told BuzzFeed Monday they had been invited to the meeting, scheduled for this Thursday at St. Petersburg’s Crowne Plaza Hotel. The groups include veteran human rights activists Lev Ponomarev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva, legal aid NGO director Pavel Chikov, and Coming Out, a St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization. Another local LGBT group, the LGBT Network, is believed to be attending, though director Igor Kochetkov declined to comment to BuzzFeed, saying that he had been “asked not to say anything.”……..

Obama’s trip to Russia for a summit of the Group of 20 industrialized nations comes amid a deep rift between the US and Russia, not least over the countries’ competing stances on Syria. Obama was due to hold a one-on-one meeting with Putin in Moscow before heading to the summit, but abruptly called that off last month in the wake of deteriorating relations and Russia’s sheltering of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Putin has repeatedly accused members of Russia’s civil society as being in the pay of the U.S. State Department.

Thursday’s meeting is not unique or unprecedented. Obama met with civil society and opposition activists during his last visit to Russia in 2009. George W. Bush met with NGOs during the G8 summit in 2006.

It is believed to be the first time Obama has met with members of the Russian LGBT community. Asked about Russia’s anti-LGBT law in August, Obama told Jay Leno that he had “no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.”

According to U.S. Embassy representative did not return several requests for comment.

Another source confirmed to OBLOGDEE that indeed the President will be meeting with the LGBT activists. This is at a time when the majority of Russians are supporting the Anti-Propaganda law, legislation signed by Putin into law this past June.  It is widely believed that the signing of the law has caused heightened anti-gay sentiment in Russia, providing further license to vigilante groups to continue to kidnap, assault, torture and out Russian gay teens on Russian social media.

There have been numerous suicides as a result of the trauma of these outings and over a two year period the number is estimated to exceed 400.

The new anti-propaganda law caused the recent detention of Dutch tourists as well as the arrest of a Russian who has been charged under the law.

International activists are staging actions to coincide with the G20 Summit. A large protest is being planned in the United Kingdom. To the best of my knowledge nothing has yet be planned by U.S. Advocacy groups for actions in the U.S.A.  to coincide with the G20 summit. There is nothing on HRC’s BLOG or website about the President’s visit or any actions planned to support LGBT Russians to coincide with the G20 Summit. Most of the U.S.A. protests have ben organized by small grassroots groups who do not have any funding. These protests have occurred outside Russian Consuls, San Francisco City Hall, and have called for boycotts of Russian vodka, removal of the Winter Olympics from Sochi Russia and also a controversial action calling for dialogue between San Francisco activists in the Castro and the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Nicholas, which is housed in the Castro .

Contact Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

@melanienathan1

https://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2013/08/27/putins-anti-gay-law-causes-shocking-beware-of-homosexuals-notice/

https://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2013/08/26/the-russian-orhtodox-church-provides-an-official-and-shameful-response-to-castro-lgbt-protests/

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by on August 27, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, NEWS, Russia, WORLD

By Melanie Nathan, August 26, 2013. Through the Winter Olympics, the world is endorsing Putin’s homophobic and anti-gay regime by coming to the #GulagOlympics at Sochi. The Russian Orthodox Church stands at the front line of the Putin anti-gay machine, encouraging and endorsing laws that persecute, proclaiming an ideal that gay can be ‘prayed away.’ […]

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by on August 26, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, NEWS, POLITICAL VIEWS, Russia, WORLD {

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by on August 26, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, NEWS, POLITICAL VIEWS, Russia

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by on August 26, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, LGBT, NEWS, Russia, WORLD

By Melanie Nathan, August 26, 2013. Due to the passage of extreme anti-gay legislation and the alarming increase in anti-gay violence in Russia, Equality Florida has called upon all Florida cities to suspend their Sister/Friendship City relationships with Russian cities.  Letters have been sent to the mayors of Gainesville, Orlando, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tallahassee. […]

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Castro Russian Orthodox Churchgoers flee in advance of Gay Protest

by on August 26, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, EVENTS, NEWS, Rally, Russia, WORLD

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by on August 22, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, LGBT, NEWS, POLITICAL VIEWS, Rally, Russia, WORLD

By Melanie Nathan, August 22, 2013. While the less educated on the realities and impacts of boycotting Russia because of its new Putin signed anti-gay laws, are quick to draw conclusions that boycotts are not working, relevant leadership emerges calling for persistent boycotts. Masha Gessen is emerging as the new and prized leadership, an imperative […]

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by on August 21, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, EVENTS, LGBT, NEWS, Rally, Russia, WORLD

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by on August 18, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, LGBT, MEDIA, NEWS, Russia, WORLD

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by on August 10, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, FASHION, LGBT, NEWS, POLITICAL VIEWS, Russia, WORLD

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by on August 10, 2013 in LGBT, NEWS, Olympics, POLITICAL VIEWS, Rally, Russia

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Senator Mark Leno takes a stand against Russian Anti-gay laws with California investment resolution

by on August 9, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, NEWS, Russia, WORLD

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by on August 8, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, Olympics, Russia, Sport, SPORTS, WORLD

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by on August 8, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, EVENTS, NEWS, Olympics, Russia, Sport, SPORTS, WORLD

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by on August 8, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, LGBT, NEWS, Olympics, Russia, SPORTS, WORLD { Edit }

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by on August 7, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, LGBT, MEDIA, NEWS, Russia, TOURISM, WORLD

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by on August 6, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, CULTURE, EVENTS, LGBT, MEDIA, NEWS, Russia, WORLD { Edit }

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San Francisco LGBT community calls on Mayor Ed Lee to Boycott Russia

by on August 6, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, EVENTS, Law, LGBT, MEDIA, NEWS, Rally, Russia, TOURISM, WORLD

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by on August 5, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, CRIME, EVENTS, LGBT, NEWS, Rally, Russia, U.S.A., WORLD

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by on August 5, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, Boycotts, EVENTS, LGBT, NEWS, Olympics, POLITICAL VIEWS, Russia, Sport, SPORTS, WORLD

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by on August 2, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, NEWS, Olympics, Russia, SPORTS, WORLD

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by on August 2, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, EVENTS, LGBT, NEWS, Rally, Russia, WORLD

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by on August 1, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, LGBT, NEWS, Olympics, Russia, Sport, SPORTS

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by on July 31, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, LGBT, NEWS, Rally, Russia, U.S.A. { Edit }

By Cathy Kristofferson, July 31, 2013 Today kicked off Embassy and Consulate protests in the U.S. against Russia’s LGBT human rights violations with actions in New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. We have blogged on the protests as actions people can take to help raise awareness about the worsening conditions for the Russian […]

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10 Actions you can take against Russia | shocking video of Russian Gay Teen torture

by on July 26, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, CRIME, LGBT, NEWS, Russia, VIDEO, WORLD

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U.S. Christian Extremist Sees Russia’s New Homophobic Laws as Model

by on July 22, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, LGBT, MARRIAGE EQUALITY, NEWS, RELIGION, Russia

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Russia arrests Dutch tourists on gay propaganda charges

by on July 21, 2013 in Advocacy & Activism, CRIME, LGBT, NEWS, Olympics, POLITICAL VIEWS, Russia, TOURISM

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Is Belarus following Russia’s footsteps to ban ‘gay propaganda’?

by on July 10, 2013 in Law, LGBT, NEWS, POLITICAL VIEWS, Russia

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Renewed calls for Olympic boycott as gay arrests continue in Russia

by on July 2, 2013 in CRIME, EVENTS, Law, LGBT, NEWS, Olympics, Organizations, Rally, Russia, Sport, SPORTS

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Violent Arrests at pro-Gay Rally in Russia

by on June 29, 2013 in LGBT, NEWS, Pride, Rally, Russia

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Same gender couples risking arrest apply for Marriage Licenses in Russia

by on June 28, 2013 in Law, LGBT, MARRIAGE EQUALITY, NEWS, Russia

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