Local police and Navalny supporters in Yaroslavl team up to protect LGBT demonstrators from harassment

On Monday, November 20, when LGBT rights supporters around the world recognize Transgender Day of Remembrance, a small group of activists staged a picket in Yaroslavl, taking turns holding up homemade signs protesting violence against transgender people.

The demonstration also drew a small but aggressive crowd of counter-protesters, who shouted slurs at the LGBT rights activists, many of whom were themselves transgender individuals. During and after the rally, local police defended the activists from counter-protesters.

When the demonstration ended, counter-protesters started following the LGBT rights activists, who took shelter inside Alexey Navalny’s local campaign office, before calling taxis to go home. While the activists were inside Navalny’s office, police guarded the building outside.

Alexander Smirnov, Navalny’s deputy coordinator in Yaroslavl, told the website 7x7 that the Navalny campaign had no part in organizing the LGBT rally, but he said he believes the activists had every right to stage it. Smirnov offered to shelter the activists, when he learned that they were being harassed.