The Vologda 'Gay Bashing Festival' is now underway in Russia

Open season on homosexuals - the annual "Gay Bashing Festival" has begun in the province of Vologda in Northern Russia

Vologda, RUSSIA - Tensions are running high in the Northern Russian town of Vologda as the notorious "Gay Bashing Festival" has begun for the 76th year in a row. The festival, which entails large mobs of angry men chasing and bashing men who appear effeminate, who are known to have engaged in homosexual activities or who've been listen in the town's "Gay blacklist", was created in 1939 after burning homosexuals at the stake was outlawed and has been going strong ever since then. The men compete in how many gay men they can bash within "an inch of their life" and at the end of the festival, which falls on the 10th of June, a "Faggot Fighter" is announced and awared with a hefty sum of money.The Police choose to ingore the festival, and any bashings during the 7 day period are brushed under the rug and have even been declared "quasi-legal". There have been 14 deaths of homosexuals since 1939 in connection to the festival, but the angry mob of homophobes regard killing them as a failure as "making them suffer" is seen as the objective of festivities. We translated an interview from a Moscow newspaper with a local, Igor Mirongainsanov who participates in the festival and this is what he had to say about the event: - Some people think that what we're doing is wrong, but it's just a bit of banter with the lads, it's what my grandfather and my father did and I am not going to do things any differently. Homosexuality is a sin and they deserve to be beaten - it's just a way it is!

Homosexual residents of Vologda, are, unsurprisngly, very secretive about their sexual orientation. Many are known to have moved from the area and especially those who're taken down on the "Gay blacklist" tend to flee as quickly as possible. We spoke to one gay man who lived in Vologda for 40 years until he was savagely bashed in 2006 and chose to leave as quickly as possible. "It's a wild, wild city. with people chasing, actually hunting gays like animals, I can't even believe it's real looking back at it from my apartment in Moscow. It is so backward, even compared to the rest of Russia and there seems to be no hope for progress. Gay men are living in fear of their lives on a daily basis in the town and it's a wonder that more of them don't move out. I couldn't walk for three weeks after I was assaulted, it's all ignorance and it's not going away anytime soon. Russia is notorious for it's Anti-gay policies and with Putin at the helm, there doesn't seem to be any progress ahead for the foreseeable future. Many non-Russians, particularly from the Western world are unaware of the Volodga festival and are shocked to hear of its existence. The Russian government,however, are well aware of the situation but are currently brushing it aside as a "non-issue". An organisation called RAH, Russians Against Homophobia have created a crowdfunding campaign that suppots their efforts to combat homophobia in Russia and stop the Vologd "Gay Bashing festival, go HERE:gofundme.com/w6vnpw to donate to the cause! In order to discuss the festival, tweet under #RussianGayBashing