“We Have the Upper Hand”

For the second year in a row, on Sunday, May 27, 2007, a small group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists and their supporters tried to stage a peaceful public demonstration in Moscow to claim their rights. For the second year in a row, anti-gay nationalist groups assaulted them, beating some severely, pelting others with rocks and eggs. For the second year in a row, police sided with the violent rather than the victims. They failed to protect peaceful demonstrators; in some cases, they colluded with the attacking extremists.