Lesbian Couple To Attempt First Same-Sex Marriage In Russia

Although they'll surely be rejected, next week a lesbian couple in Moscow will attempt to get a marriage license.

Public relations worker Irina Fyet, 31, and her partner of the same age will apply for a marriage license at a register office on May 12 in Moscow, a city where mayor Yuri Luzhkov once described gay pride marches as "satanic." Gay rights activist Nikolai Alekseyev said it was the first time a gay couple would apply for a license. "I am 99 percent sure there will be a refusal, but maybe later the situation in Russia can change, the political feeling can change," he told Reuters on Wednesday. The pair will most likely legally marry in the coming months in Toronto, or Norway, he added. Neither country requires residency for gay couples wishing to marry. Activists say a loophole exists in Russian law which bans gay marriage at home but does not prevent the recognition of a same-sex marriage that has taken place abroad.

Next week Moscow Pride will coincide with the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, bringing the couple access to hundreds of probably friendly foreign journalists.