Source: The St. Petersburg Times By Yekaterina Kravtsova MOSCOW – A demonstration outside the State Duma on Tuesday ended in fisticuffs as Orthodox activists clashed with opponents of a bill targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Police and at least one Duma deputy intervened to halt the violence. About 30 LGBT activists met at noon on Georgiyevsky Pereulok for an event they called “Kissing Day” to protest a proposed ban on “homosexual propaganda.” Gay and lesbian couples posed for photographs at the entrance to the Duma building while kissing. But Orthodox activists showed up at the event and tried…
Browsing: Moscow
Source: RIA Novosti MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) – More than 82,000 Moscow residents bathed in icy cold water to mark the Epiphany early Saturday, as air temperature in the Russian capital stood at minus 13 degrees Celsius (+ 8.6 Fahrenheit), a spokesman for the Emergency Ministry’s Moscow branch said Saturday. Epiphany, also known as Theophany, is one of the Great Feasts, marking the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and the beginning of his ministry. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the holiday on January 19, in line with the Julian calendar. Honoring an…
Source: The Atlantic Backlash builds against a planned Orthodox church that’s backed and would be partly funded by the Kremlin. Orthodox cathedrals with their trademark golden onion domes are a familiar sight across Russia. And one may soon become part of Paris’s famed skyline, right near the Eiffel Tower. French President Francois Hollande has just weeks to decide on a controversial plan to build a massive Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in downtown Paris on the banks of the Seine River, on a UNESCO-protected world heritage site. The project is staunchly opposed by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who has…
Source: Associated Press/Huffington Post | Lynn Berry MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin took the oath of office in a brief but regal Kremlin ceremony on Monday, while on the streets outside thousands of helmeted riot police prevented hundreds of demonstrators from protesting his return to the presidency. Putin, 59, has ruled Russia since 2000, first as president and then during the past four years as prime minister. The new, now six-year term will keep him in power until 2018, with the option of running for a fourth term. “I consider service to the fatherland and our nation to be the meaning…