The Iron Closet: How Right-Wing Thugs and Football Hooligans Spoiled Kyiv’s Gay Pride Parade

This is an extended version of a report I filed for The Stranger in May.

What would have been Ukraine’s first-ever gay pride parade, an event to show that Ukraine was moving toward tolerance and ready to protect the rights of its sexual minorities, was cancelled at the last second on Sunday when a group of right-wing counter-protesters threatened to turn the celebration of diversity into a violent fiasco.

The timing of the event was deliberate. With the Euro 2012 games less than a month away, gay rights activists figured the government wouldn’t want to cause yet another diplomatic row with the EU on the eve of Ukraine’s big debut on the international sports stage by refusing permission to hold the parade.

On that point, they were right—mostly. 

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Spring in Kyiv is colder than I anticipated. While some days feel like we've properly passed the equinox, I still find myself reaching for a scarf and gloves every now and then before I leave my flat in the morning. It must be said that after a few months of the Ukrainian deep freeze, anything above zero degrees Celsius feels quite balmy. I've come to believe that if you can make it through the depths of the Ukrainian winter, you can make it through just about anything.

Kyiv has a funny geography. The Dnipro river cuts the city in two. I live on the left bank of the river, which if you look at a map is actually on the east (right) side. I'm told that it's so named because if you look in the direction of the river's current, the left bank will be, well, to the left.

I spend a lot of early mornings gazing out the window of the metro as it slowly creeps over the river and makes its way toward the city center. It's a great vantage point to take in the sprawling landscape of the Ukrainian capital—the fantastic view of the Mother Motherland statue, the smokey factories off to the south, the bored security guards pacing along the platforms by the floating hotels. But probably the best time for metro-gazing is in the winter. During the cold months, the entire river freezes over and dozens of fishermen cluster on the ice to try and catch some big whoppers.

On an especially frigid day in February, I decided to gather my nerves and walk across the frozen water to hang out with some of them. I've seen frozen lakes and ponds in Eastern Washington, but I have to say that standing under a bridge in the middle of a huge river was one of the most surreal experiences I've had in Ukraine.

I caught up with a little group of fishermen who were more than happy to show me the proper way to ice fish.

The catch of the day.

Ukrainians have a different technique than Americans. I don't know the details, but I think it involves more cigarettes.

Gently tugging the lure.

This tool is used to drill into the ice. Walking toward these guys, I saw dozens of holes in the ice where other groups had been fishing.