The Moscow city government says it is studying a request by a leading gay activist to hold the country's first ever gay pride march in the capital.
"We are studying the proposals and will reply in due time," Lyudmila Shvetsova, who oversees the capital's social policy, told reporters on Wednesday.
Nikolai Alexeyev, Russia's top gay rights activist, said on Tuesday the city council had allowed the proposed march on May 28, a claim dismissed by Moscow's central district head, who said he was not aware of any such event.
In October, the European Court of Human Rights fined Russia for banning gay parades in Moscow.
The court in Strasbourg said fears that such marches could cause outrage and provoke violence were unfounded and ordered Russia to pay $41,090 in damages and for legal fees.
Former Moscow mayor, Yury Luzkhov, who was in power for 18 years before being sacked by President Dmitry Medvedev in September, described gay parades as "satanic."
The new mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, told a radio station in February he was not in favor of the idea.
Activists who have tried to march in Moscow without permission have come under attack from hardcore nationalists and religious groups, or were set upon by police.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
