News
Gunmen open fire at Moscow gay nightclub
‘It’s getting scarier each day’
Two men with guns tried to gain entry into Central Station, a gay club in Moscow early on Nov. 16, 2013. (Photo courtesy of Sattarov Karimjon)
Two men early on Nov. 16 opened fire on a gay club in the Russian capital after security personnel refused to allow them to enter.
Arkady Gyngazov, who was managing Central Station in Moscow during the incident, told the Washington Blade during a Skype interview from the Russian capital on Monday the men tried to enter the club around 5 a.m., but were turned away because they were “aggressive.” He said they returned with guns a short time later and started shooting.
Gyngazov told the Blade he was not at the club when the shooting happened, but he estimated 500 people were inside during the incident.
He said the men destroyed Central Station’s surveillance camera and left bullet holes on the building’s facade. Gyngazov told the Blade nobody was injured because patrons were not arriving or exiting the establishment during the incident.
“That’s why they didn’t kill anybody,” Gyngazov told the Blade.
The incident took place a week after gay MSNBC host Thomas Roberts co-hosted the annual Miss Universe pageant that took place in Moscow. The shooting also occurred against the backdrop of ongoing outrage over the Kremlin’s LGBT rights record that threatens to overshadow the 2014 Winter Olympics that will take place in Sochi, Russia, in February.
President Vladimir Putin in June signed a vaguely worded law that bans gay propaganda to minors. A second statute that prohibits foreign same-sex couples and any couple from a country in which gays and lesbians can legally marry from adopting Russian children took effect in July.
A 2012 law requires LGBT groups and non-governmental organizations that receive funding from outside Russia to register as a “foreign agent.”
Activists maintain the widely publicized deaths of two men in Volgograd and on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East earlier this year underscore the fact that anti-LGBT violence remains a pervasive problem in the country.
Members of the Russian HIV/AIDS service organization LaSky earlier this month were attacked with air guns and baseball bats during an event at the group’s St. Petersburg office. The two men who attacked Dutch diplomat Onno Elderenbosch inside his Moscow apartment on Oct. 15 drew a heart with an arrow through it and the LGBT acronym in lipstick on a mirror in his home.
LGBT activists and their opponents clashed in St. Petersburg during an Oct. 12 gay rights rally. The city’s police in June arrested more 40 LGBT rights advocates during a similar event.
Authorities in May arrested 30 gay activists who tried to stage a Pride celebration outside Moscow City Hall. Officials in Murmansk nearly two months later detained Kris van der Veen and three other Dutch LGBT rights advocates for violating the country’s gay propaganda law while they were filming a documentary on Russian gay life.
‘Gay club here’ sign placed above Central Station
Gyngazov did not confirm media reports that indicate a Kremlin-controlled railroad company owns the building in which Central Station is located. He said its owners last month placed a large neon sign above the club’s entrance that reads “gay club here” and contains arrows pointing toward the door.
“I’m sure [the attack] is connected to the situation here in Russia with gays and with the advertisement that the owners of the building put in big letters on the building,” Gyngazov told the Blade. “It’s not allowed in Russia because of the law and the aggressive people, homophobes. They have to know that it’s a gay club and it’s dangerous for our clients.”
Gyngazov said patrons have been attacked outside Central Station since he began working at the club in 2010, but nobody had previously opened fire on the building. He told the Blade the police promised to investigate the shooting.
“I’m not sure because when it’s about gays, usually they don’t want to do anything,” Gyngazov said. “Police doesn’t work here, especially if you’re [gay.]”
Gyngazov said he quit his job after the shooting because he is afraid.
“I decided to leave it because it’s getting more dangerous,” Gyngazov told the Blade.
The Associated Press on Monday reported Russia’s sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, told the Russian newspaper RBK that lawmakers should have waited until after the Olympics to pass the country’s gay propaganda law. This statement comes on the heels of reassurances from Putin that gays and lesbians will not experience discrimination during the games, even though Mutko and other Russian officials said authorities plan to enforce the gay propaganda law in Sochi.
Gyngazov, who volunteers for Spectrum Human Rights, which monitors the Kremlin’s gay rights record, became visibly scared as he discussed the future of LGBT Russians after the Sochi games.
“It’s getting scarier each day,” he said.
Hungary
New Hungarian prime minister takes office
Péter Magyar’s party defeated anti-LGBTQ Viktor Orbán last month
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office on Saturday.
Magyar’s center-right Tisza party on April 12 defeated then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition. Vice President JD Vance less than a week before the election traveled to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, and urged Hungarians to support Orbán.
Orbán had been in office since 2010. He and his government faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The European Commission in 2022 sued Hungary, which is a member of the EU, over the country’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law. The European Union’s top court, the EU Court of Justice, on April 21 struck down the statute.
The EU while Orbán was office withheld upwards of €35 billion ($41.26) in funds to Hungary in response to concerns over corruption, rule of law, and other issues.
Hungarian lawmakers in March 2025 passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs later amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
Upwards of 100,000 people last June defied the ban and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.
“Congratulations to [Péter Magyar] on becoming prime minister of Hungary,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on X.
“This Europe Day, our hearts are in Budapest,” she added. “The hope and promise of renewal is a powerful signal in these challenging times.”
“We have important work ahead of us,” noted von der Leyen. “For Hungary and for Europe, we are moving forward together.”
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Congratulations to Congresswoman Sarah McBride (D-Del.) on being honored with this year’s Stonewall Award from Whitman-Walker Health. Amy Nelson, senior director of Legal Services, said, “Congresswoman Sarah McBride is working to make healthcare accessible to all, and this award recognizes her support of healthcare as a human right. Our legal program supports families facing unprecedented challenges to stay healthy and safe – families that Congresswoman McBride champions with a deep understanding of the issues they face and the legislative expertise of how to support them.”
McBride, in a press release, said, “I am honored to accept this year’s Stonewall Award from Whitman-Walker Health — an organization that has spent 40 years doing vital work to ensure every person can access the dignity of care. In the wealthiest and most developed nation on earth, the ability to receive care should not be a matter of luck—it should be the law of the land. I am proud to be recognized as a partner in this work and to support Whitman-Walker Health in their mission to build a healthier society for all.”
Congratulations also to Wes Drummond who will join Clear Space Theatre Company in Rehoboth Beach, Del., as its third artistic director. Managing Director Joe Gfaller said, “This is an exciting moment of growth for Clear Space as we welcome Wes to join our remarkable team. I am confident he will be an excellent partner as we work with our entire staff, board, and committed team of volunteers, to ensure Clear Space can achieve its full potential in pursuit of our mission to unite and enrich our community through every production on stage, and every arts-based learning program we offer throughout our community.”
On accepting the position Drummond said, “I’m honored to join Clear Space Theatre Company as artistic director, and beyond excited for what we’re about to create together. Clear Space has established itself as a vital and vibrant part of the cultural life of coastal Delaware, and I feel incredibly fortunate to step into this next chapter alongside such a passionate and dedicated team. Rehoboth Beach is a place defined by creativity and community, and I look forward to listening, learning, and building meaningful relationships across the region in the months ahead. My vision is to help Clear Space continue to grow as a bold, forward-thinking, cultural force, that champions fearless storytelling.”
Drummond served in leadership roles at Duluth Playhouse in Duluth, Minn., from 2021 to 2026, including four years as executive director followed by one year as executive producing artistic director, guiding the organization through a period of significant transformation and stability in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a director, he has worked extensively in New York City, Chicago, and at regional theaters across the country, directing both musical theater and plays with a focus on storytelling that bridges classical works with contemporary perspectives. He has collaborated with leading figures in the industry, including Tony Award-winning director Matthew Warchus, and Tony-nominated director Michael Greif. He is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Wes earned his MFA in directing, Penn State University, where he studied under Tony-nominated director, Susan H. Schulman.
Virginia
Va. Supreme Court invalidates Democrat-backed redistricting plan
Voters narrowly approved new congressional districts last month
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Democrat-backed redistricting plan that voters approved last month.
Ten of 11 of Virginia’s congressional districts favor Democrats in the plan that passed by a 51-48 vote margin in last month’s referendum.
The Human Rights Campaign PAC is among the groups that support it. The court by a 4-3 majority invalidated the referendum results.
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