Elena Musolina grew up thinking homosexuality was an affliction of alcoholics and drug addicts. Now she marches alongside her son at LGBT rights protests and goes head-to-head with Russia’s most vocal anti-LGBT politician.
This is Elena Musolina and her son, Dmitry, who came out to her nearly six years ago. They live in St. Petersburg, Russia and are activists with the LGBT group Coming Out.
The sign reads: "Homophobia is illegal!"
Courtesy of Dmitry Musolin / Via Coming Out
And here's Musolina taking on St. Petersburg lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, one of the architects of Russia's "gay propaganda" law, at a public hearing on the local version of the ban in September 2012.
Milonov was the driving force behind St. Petersburg's 2012 propaganda law, which set the stage for the nationwide ban. He's since led a gas attack on an LGBT festival and called anti-LGBT hate crimes "fake."
Courtesy of Dmitry Musolin
When Musolina joined Coming Out's support group for parents of LGBT kids in 2011, she didn't expect it would become political. But that changed when the "gay propaganda" ban made her feel like her son was a second-class citizen.
Musolina stands, far left, with some of the moms in the group. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the federal propaganda ban in 2013, the country has grown increasingly dangerous for LGBT people. According to an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in December 2014, 63 percent of Russians believe LGBT people should not be accepted in society.
Courtesy of Coming Out
When BuzzFeed News asked Musolina if she was afraid of being accused of violating the law on propaganda, she laughed. “They could say that,” she said. “But I know I am not violating it. I know that I am right.”
Musolina attends an LGBT rights protest holding a sign that reads: "A parent's love does not depend on the children's orientation!!!"
Coming Out / Via Facebook: rklgbt
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