Dear friends!

I. I am very glad to the presented possibility to meet you, for this fact I want to express the large gratitude to RFSL branch in Pitea and personally to our friends, with whom we support the constant friendly relations, who constantly helps us in all undertakings, do not keep us without attention, help and advice.

II. Now some words about a situation in Murmansk in the general social plan and about a status of homosexuals in particular.

As our neighbors, you know where are city of Murmansk and Murmansk region located. This is very large territorial object. The whole number of the population is about 1,5 million people.

Unfortunately now there are not the best times in the life of our country. The enterprises do not work, a lot of social problems exist in the society, - in short, crisis which has burst out in the country, has not bypassed Murmansk. Now it is heavy, but the hope always lives. I hope that soon all will be changed to best.

If to evaluate an amount of homosexuals on lowest measure in 2 % there are not less than 30 thousand gays and 10-15 thousand of them live only in Murmansk not speaking already about bisexuals.

Here is a question itself: where are all these people and who attends to them? You see, each of them repeatedly had many problems in the process of maturing and social adaptation to the life in homophobe society: a comprehension of oneself as homosexual personality, disagreements in contacts and relations with their associates, misunderstanding and condemnation in family, etc. Nobody did never try to decide these questions or even to help the people to find themselves in this difficult situation.

I shall not hide that the relation to homosexuals in Murmansk in the majority is very negative. The society is homophobe. It is considered that homosexuals are not only perverts but also are of some lower grade of the sick people who have no rights to express openly their views.

Such attitude is not surprising. You see, the criminal punishment for homosexual contacts was cancelled only in 1993. Before this time homosexuality was punishable action and the medicine till now recommends to treat it either by hormonal therapy or by psychoanalytical correction of the personality. And now when the sexual education of the teenagers at schools is cancelled, homophobia even more will strengthen its position in public consciousness.

In the Family Code of Russia the concept of family is treated extremely as union between man and woman that is leaving homosexual co-partnership completely not protected socially.

Thus, it is considered that we don't have problems in the attitude to homosexuals in society because there are no homosexuals themselves but there are mentally ill abnormal perverts. This expresses roughly but precisely our situation in Murmansk. And from here there is the way of life of gays and bisexuals in our city.

There are no public decent places for meetings (not considering a pair of free public toilets, but you see, no everyone will go there), it is hardly and expensively to purchase any literature on homosexual questions. Mainly the meeting pass in private apartments and as it is accepted at someone - they come to the end with booze-up and group sex.

No one from homosexuals never will declare itself in the company where he works, if he does not want to be dismissed by any suitable reason and to become the unemployed. The majority does not risk to tell about itself to the relatives or friends, not wishing to lose their kind attitude or to become object of jeers. The police treats to homosexuals with contempt and as a rule it is not used to expect their help.

Last summer there were some cases of homosexual rapes. Only two examples:

• 15 yo teenager was raped in hills near city by his 18 yo friend at six o'clock in the morning. There is asked what has pulled them in hills in such time?
• The worker at a factory rapes the foreman directly in workshop after working day.

From all above mentioned it is possible to make a conclusion that both homosexuals and the numerous problems are present, but there is not present and never was any organization assisting them to live and establishing positive moral norms of homosexual relations.

III. Last spring through Internet we had contact with RFSL group in Pitea. After long correspondence we have met in the summer in Murmansk and have seen that it is possible to create organization which will attend to problems of homosexuals. It is your example - example of RFSL!

There is a sufficient number of people who are interested in its activity now. Potential of development of homosexual organization in Murmansk is huge.

IV. We have made the first trial steps, such as contact with Murmansk branch of the Red Cross and Centre of Prophylaxis and Struggle against AIDS. We have made the first broadcast on local radio and telecast on local TV, first publications in newspapers. There is Murmansk gay home-page in Internet created by the initiative of our friends in RFSL-Pitea and with our participation, on which the messages from the interested people arrive.

Undoubtedly we were very much interested in response of surrounding on appearance of open group of the people which are not hiding their sexual orientation. It is necessary to state that no special joy have not been expressed neither by authorities of region, nor management of other state organizations about homosexuals having declared itself openly.

V. Undoubtedly the ideal variant for our region would be creation of small informational-consulting point in the city which would become centre of Murmansk homosexual community.

We consider as main question of work at the first stage of our existence the informing of population about homosexuality as a normal form of interpersonal relations, the overcoming of negative homophobe ideology.

The problem of AIDS does not yet stand acutely in our city and region. There are registered 66 cases of HIV-infection, 10 of them are among gays. Especially it is important to conduct enlightening and preventive work in the city right now. The rallying of homosexuals around of one organization will help to prevent expansion of AIDS during homosexual contacts.

Besides there is an urgent necessity to help HIV-infected people to live normal public life, not to keep them one on one with this trouble. If to take into account vast difficulties in supply by medicinal preparations, here we are very much interested in cooperation to AIDS-Centre of Murmansk and we find complete mutual understanding.

It is necessary also to adjust though any source of production and distribution of the literature published in a small number of copies, speaking openly about homosexuality as socially normal phenomenon, and also informing the population of city about danger of HIV-infection and about safer sex, that especially is important taking into account that Murmansk is seaport town.

It would be vital to create telephone of confidence on which each called could receive the necessary advice and a literature on homosexuality, simply to consult with the person of homosexual orientation.

VI. Unfortunately our state has not any possibility to pay attention to such small-sized problem, as problems of homosexuals, by its opinion. For this reason some people expresses the disbelief in possibility of work of such organization. There is no material base for its existence.

The organization RFSL-Pitea helps us throughout.

We frequently use in dialogue with administrative bodies realization of direct analogies with that our friends in Sweden do, what conditions have you for normal work of gays, bisexuals, lesbians. It very much and very effective method.

The Swedish state much helps and cooperates to Russia. If the small part of this help would be concretely directed to the aid of formation and work of organization of gays, bisexuals and lesbians of Murmansk, we could create our informational- consulting point, first in our region, similar to one of the numerous RFSL branches in Sweden.

We would be especially grateful if you could help us financially even during this congress!

I think that jointly we shall find also other variants of cooperation of our organizations in many areas interesting for us.

Thank you for attention!