St. Petersburg Passes Anti-Gay Law

St. Petersburg governor Georgiy Poltavchenko has signed a new law, adopted by the city legislature, under which “public actions directed at the propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism among minors” will be punishable with fines of up to $17,000.  Arkhangelsk and Ryazan have passed similar laws, and others cities have said they would follow suit. Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of Russia’s upper house of Parliament and a former governor of St. Petersburg, has suggested that the measure could be enacted on a federal level.

http://en.gazeta.ru/news/2012/03/11/a_4033833.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/world/asia/anti-gay-law-stirs-fears-in-russia.html