On the morning of 14 June, around 40 people rallied in Bishkek's Gorky Park in support of a bill banning 'gay propaganda' from the small Central Asian state. In the first public anti-LGBT protest since early 2014, the young, mostly male crowd stood almost motionless, listening to speeches, occasionally clapping and cheering.
Three policemen watched from the shade of a tree. After 90 minutes, the crowd broke up and departed, leaving Gorky Park to its usual neglected state. Although small and seemingly innocuous, the rally points to the growing political and social forces, which threaten Kyrgyzstan's status as an island of democracy in a region of authoritarian and repressive regimes.
Familiar faces
A mixture of Kyrgyz, Russian and Muslim cultures and ethnicities made up the crowd. Men wore traditional Kyrgyz kolpok hats, taqiyah and baseball caps. Speeches were made in both Russian and Kyrgyz.
