The first International Festival of Queer Culture held in St. Petersburg Sept. 17-27 was “the first successful openly queer event of this scale in Russia,” organizers said.
The festival included concerts, plays, photo exhibits, poetry events, seminars and workshops at multiple locations.
“As a result of the festival, different human rights groups and organizations have made plans for future collaboration and the queer community of St. Petersburg has been empowered to continue full participation in the social and cultural life of their city,” organizers said.
The local group Coming Out was the main force behind the festival, with assistance from the Russian LGBT Network, Lesbi Partiya, Gender-L, Ksenofobii-Net and other organizations.
The Dutch and Swedish consulates helped fund the festival.
By Rex Wockner
