Sorry, but are you serious? Do you really see a conspiracy or a “lobby” hiding behind every bush or bunghole? And “assbangers”? Not to impose American standards of political correctness, but couldn’t you as a writer have come up with a more appropriate and less disparaging term?

I find it odd that a German member of parliament would go to a political demonstration in Russia, demonstrating on an issue related only to Russia.

Here’s the thing – to the people it touches personally, it’s not exactly an issue related only to Russia any more than Jim Crow was an issue only related to the US in the pre-Civil-Rights era.

Ahem. Bit of a brainstorm there – not quite sure what I was thinking when I posted that. I blame the wine

Thanks Nikolay.

The Moscow police could, of course, have prevented the punch-up by not acting like thugs. I guess that’s still too much to expect from them.

Sorry for being the one to point out a picture typo.

And anyone who thinks they weren’t put up to it is playing with half a deck.

Speaking as a Russian citizen, I’m so grateful that British rent boys are speaking up for our rights.

The phrase, ‘butt out’ has never been more appropriate.

If you ask Russian gays what they think about Sunday’s events then – allowing for a base-level political apathy that Westerners who follow current affairs always find odd – you’ll find they don’t hugely support the gay rights movement. The prevailing attitude is ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ and, yes, they do fear a ‘backlash’; legislative or otherwise. Additionally they believe that this is an area where time, and changing social attitudes, matters more than political zeitgeist.

Homosexuality was a crime in Russia until 1993. Although homosexuality is no longer illegal in Russia, there are no laws preventing discrimination (similar to most of the United States.) The BBC, ABC……