Yesterday QueerFest hold debates on the topic Human rights in Russian traditions: do Russians need human rights?. In an open dialogue experts talked not as much about the interrelation between human rights and traditional values, as about what it means in regards to gay rights.

Opinions of participants were not very surprising.

Protestant priest Konstantin Bendas and psychologyst Maxim Syrbu spoke about the primary role of family – as “mother, father and child” – and about homosexuality as being either sin or disease. Human rights activists Nina Tagankina (Moscow Helsinki Group) and Andrey Yurov (Youth Human Rights Movement), as well as Maxim Anmeghichean (ILGA-Europe) supported the idea that human rights should be pretected for all people regardless of their sexual orientation.

The most relevant part of the debates was the very fact that they took place in such an open way. Previously LGBT-activists' attempts to communicate directly with their opponents were always met with refusals to discuss anything.

We hope that this will be a start for a dilogue in which both sides would be able not only to state their views, but to find ways to come to some form of agreement.

photos by Polina Korchagina