The Birch

As Californians celebrate yesterday’s court ruling that Proposition 8 violates constitutional rights, the fledgling LGBT rights movement in Russia remains stymied by a ban on gay rights protests (let alone pride parades), as well as by the recent outlawing of any “propaganda of homosexuality” (rainbow flags, posters, etc.) by the two city governments of Arkhangelsk and Ryazan. (NYT)

Just last month, Nikolai Alekseev and a fellow gay rights protester were arrested for anti-discrimination picketing in front of an Arkhangelsk children’s library. (GayRussia News)

The video above features the very sexy, all-male Ukrainian dance group Kazaky, who became internet celebrities after “In the Middle” (above) went viral on Youtube. It’s amazing that such an explicit confrontation of gender roles came from Ukraine, which, albeit not as hostile as Russia, doesn’t have the greatest track record in terms of LGBT rights.