Activists create hidden Pride flag in Russia to protest anti-LGBTQ laws
It's illegal to display the Pride flag in Russia, but these activists found a way around that in the form of a secret flag made from football jerseys.
A Spanish digital agency teamed up with Spanish LGBTQ organisation FELGTB to create the "Hidden Flag" protest on the streets of Moscow during the World Cup.
The activists wore the football jerseys from Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia to represent the colours on the Pride flag.
Activists Marta Márquez, Eric Houter, Eloi Pierozan Junior, Guillermo León, Vanesa Paola Ferrario, and Mateo Fernández Gómez took to the streets over the weekend to appear as a human Pride flag in public places in Moscow.
In June 2013, Russia passed federal laws which banned LGBTQ "propaganda," rendering it illegal to promote "non-traditional sexual relationships" or to distribute any material relating to LGBTQ culture, including the Pride flag.
People have been applauding the act of protest on Twitter.
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LGBTQ activist Eric Rosswood wrote: "OMG! I love this so much!"
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Mikala Paula declared the Hidden Flag the winner of the World Cup.
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Topics Activism LGBTQ Social Good
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
