Chicago activist and political organizer Andy Thayer, who was recently acquitted from felony charges incurred from a January 2008 protest against George W. Bush, was one of a group of 40 activists in Moscow who were arrested [ Video ] in a crackdown after attempts to stage a Slavic Pride parade in Russia.

Thayer, who has been providing regular dispatches on Chicago Indymedia from Moscow, has reported on efforts by Russian and Belorussian LGBT activists who continue to organize despite repeated threats and slurs, including those from Moscow's mayor.

The repression of LGBT rights from Russian authorities and local skinheads is nothing new. A Moscow march in 2006 saw considerable numbers of police level more than 100 arrests. Every year since, Moscow City Hall has dismissed permit requests for subsequent marches, and each year's march has been marred by anti-gay violence.

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