RUSSIA
She Promises, She Delivers – Vladimir Luxuria in Moscow for Gay Pride
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She Promises, She Delivers – Vladimir Luxuria in Moscow for Gay Pride MOSCOW, May 25, 2007 (GayRussia.ru) – When Italian transgendered politician Vladimir Luxuria met Nikolai Alekseev at the Turin Pride last June, she accepted the invitation of the Russian gay movement to attend the 2nd Moscow Pride. Eleven months later Vladimir Luxuria arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetievo airport. And despite she incidentally came without visa, the Russian foreign affairs ministry granted her a visa at the airport. Vladimir Luxuria is ready to join Russian LGBT activists and supporters to march in Moscow on Sunday. Tomorrow, she will speak at the international conference on the rights of citizenship for transgender people. The Russian media are very curious to meet the first elected transgender politician in Europe. Her first interview in Moscow was with GayRussia.ru yesterday. GayRussia.Ru: Vladimir, you just arrived in Moscow: why is it important for you to attend this second Pride? Vladimir Luxuria: I know what it means to be beaten up. I experienced it during my adolescence just because I decided to be sincere and not to hide myself in the deep south of Italy. I had to pay of myself up to my blood. GR: How did you like your first 24 hours in Moscow? What have you done? Vladimir: I waited six hours for the visa – not due to the mistake of the Russian authorities but due to the incorrect information given by the travel agency in the Italian parliament. I had the opportunity to meet Nikolai’s family and we had a wonderful dinner at home. Then, I went to the hotel and had a nice sleep. Today, I have been a typical tourist. I am a member of the cultural commission in the Parliament and I like to see cultural places of the country I visit. I went to Kolomenskoe, it’s a church which is being rebuilding and a wonderful museum with precious icons and a very ancient door of the monastery. We went also to the Japanese garden in Glavnyyj to feel part of the nature because we are part of the nature – a variety of the biodiversity. I had a typical blini with mushrooms. And I spent the evening with Russian gay and lesbian activists. GR: Your party (Communist Refoundation) supports gay marriage ? Vladimir: Yes. Of course. We have one openly Lesbian and one openly Transgender elected in our party out of 40 deputies. The parliament is discussing a law to grant rights and duties for those lucky once who find someone to live with. We have big problems with Vatican influencing very much the parliament. They promoted the ‘Family day demonstration’ with 500,000 people and they said ‘Yes to family and no to DICO (the law on partnership we proposed)’. They said that if you promote the law, you take something away from the normal families. GR: What do you expect for the gay pride on Sunday ? Vladimir: I think that such an important city where there are so many gays and lesbians should not be ashamed of having a pride. It’s one day where some people can say that they are tired of hiding themselves. They want to show their faces, their body and their rights to be respected in the centre of this capital, which seems to imitate western country just in the consumerism …they are anxious to have new technology. Western culture is also civil rights for our community and not only consumerism. GR: You are not scared ? Vladimir: Of course I am. I would be hypocrite not to say that. I just had my nose remade and I hope there won’t be someone to ruin the result! Seriously, I think that when I was 16, when I decided to come out and to win the fears, I thought the price of freedom is always worth the trouble. I think the Russian authorities should be more open about this issue. GR: You will meet Russian MPs. what do you want to tell them? Vladimir: I want to tell them that the new-born LGBT movement in Russia should be supported and protected. We should have the right to be represented in the media and to talk about our rights, our needs. Also, the Russian parliament should begin to put the issue about rights and unions. I know that there are lot of gay and lesbian couples in Russia and they should be recognized. GR: What would be your message to [Moscow Mayor] Yuri Luzhkov? Vladimir: Please consider the gay pride as a sign of progress. GR: And to President Putin? Vladimir: A real man is a courageous man. So, take the courage to say I am the president of all Russian citizens, – and no one excluded. GR : Thank you for keeping your promise and spend this important time with us. LINKS
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