GEORGE NELSON: The Art Newspaper
Police officers in Russia’s fourth largest city, Yekaterinburg, have confiscated several drawings by high school pupils to investigate if they constituted “gay propaganda.” The 17 works were created to celebrate the International Day of Tolerance on 16 November. Officers are checking if they violate the Russian federal law “for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values,” which was rubber-stamped by President Vladimir Putin in 2013.
The authorities seized the drawings after they were posted on pro-government website Ura.ru as part of a story with the headline, “Poster competition with gay and lesbian images held in Urals school.” The works by students from the fifth to ninth grades included captions such as: “We don’t choose our appearance, orientation, or race. We are all unique in our own way” and, “We are for peace! We are for tolerance!” Rainbows, heterosexual couples, children, and people of different races also feature in the drawings. …Read More
Pictured: Examples of some of the works submitted by the students
