The Fight For Gay Rights In Russia

A man brutally attacks a gay-rights activist during an unsanctioned gay-pride parade in St. Petersburg on June 25, 2011.

Plain-clothes police officers detain gay-rights activist Daniel Choi (center) near the Kremlin during an unsanctioned gay-pride parade in central Moscow on May 28, 2011.

Police force gay-rights activist Daniel Choi into a police vehicle as they detain him near the Kremlin during an unsanctioned gay-pride parade in central Moscow on May 29, 2011.

Activists hold a demonstration to protest a gay-pride parade in Moscow on May 21, 2011. The placard reads: "Russia Without Pederasts."

A gay-rights activist holds a placard displaying the image of 19th-century composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky during an unsanctioned protest rally to defend the rights of Russian gays and lesbians in St. Petersburg on April 7.

A member of the Russian art collective Voina tries to silence a man yelling, "Moscow without gays!"

Police officers detain a gay-rights activist who tried to protest against antigay legislation in St. Petersburg on April 6, 2012.

A gay-rights activist holds a rainbow flag onboard a motor boat during a gay-pride parade in St. Petersburg on June 25, 2011.

Gay-rights activists take part in a rally against homophobic laws in the central Arbat area in Moscow on March 10, 2012.

Police arrest a gay-rights activist as he holds a poster reading "Homophobia Is A Disease" during an unsanctioned gay-pride rally in St. Petersburg on June 25, 2011.