By Georgy Kalakutskii | Public Advocacy & Crowdfunding Manager
June is Pride Month across much of the world, but for queer people in Russia, it’s often a time of heightened fear and invisibility. This year, we wanted to shift that narrative — not by ignoring the reality, but by surrounding it with support.
We launched #30 (30 Days of Allyship), a global campaign with Russian-speaking influencers aimed at reminding LGBTQ+ people in Russia that they are not alone. Dozens of creators joined in from across the world — from Georgia and Germany to Armenia and the Baltics — using their platforms to speak directly to the community inside Russia. The result: millions of people reached, and messages of support flooding in.
Alongside this, we continued our partnership with AllOut to launch Love vs. Fear — an international online exhibition available in six languages. It features ten deeply personal stories from queer people in Russia, each paired with an artwork created by artists moved by their experiences. Hundreds of thousands have already visited the site. The project gave people outside of Russia a way to connect meaningfully with those inside, even across language and border barriers.
Meanwhile, our everyday work never stopped. Throughout the summer, hundreds of queer people across Russia received legal, psychological, and career support through our programs. Community members continued to seek help — and found not only assistance, but safety and care in the process. Others volunteered to support their peers, attended educational webinars, and took part in our ongoing research work to help document the reality of LGBTQ+ life in Russia.
This work would not be possible without your support. Every message of solidarity, every donation, every effort to amplify these voices matters more than ever.
To stay connected with the Russian LGBTQ+ community, follow us on our English-speaking media channels!
With gratitude,
ComingOut Team
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