Russian Embassy Protests Today

UPDATE: This post has been updated above, with photos.

Late notice, but there's a vigil taking place today at the Russian embassies in New York (noon) and San Francisco (4pm) in protest of the treatment of gay pride marchers at last week's Moscow Pride event. Protesters intend to pour Stolichnaya vodka into the sewers in front of each embassy. Nikolai Aleseyeev, head of Moscow Pride, says, "We are thankful for the support of gay Americans mobilizing on our behalf to do what we can't - stage vigils at Russian government offices. Please don't forget about your brothers and sisters beyond the United States, and our difficult struggle for equality."

Supporters of the protest include Brendan Fay, of Irish Queers, and Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag. Michael Petrelis is organizing the SF vigil, asking, "I beg my fellow gay and lesbian Americans to refrain from buying Stoli vodka, as just one way to express solidarity with gays in Moscow. This Pride season, please avoid ordering Stoli."

Read the U.S. State Department's comment of the plight of gays in Russia. An exerpt:

In May gay rights activists hosted a small international conference in Moscow on combating homophobia; however, the mayor of Moscow and the courts denied their applications to hold a gay pride parade. According to Human Rights Watch, on May 27, several dozen Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender protestors, accompanied by Russian and foreign supporters, including members of the European and German parliaments, sought to hold two successive protest rallies, one to lay flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin wall, and the second a vigil at city hall in support of the freedoms of assembly and expression.Organizers decided to hold these events after a court upheld Mayor Yuriy Luzkhov's ban on a march they planned for that day. At both events hundreds of antigay protesters, including skinheads and nationalists attacked the participants, beating and kicking many, while throwing projectiles and chanting homophobic slogans. Police intervened only belatedly, failing to protect demonstrators from violence; observers noted that police inaction aggravated the violence.