Baltic Pride is an annual LGBT+ pride parade rotating in turn between the capitals of the Baltic states; Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. It is held in support of raising issues of tolerance and the rights of the LGBT community and is supported by ILGA-Europe. Since 2009, the main organisers have been Mozaīka, the National LGBT Rights Organization LGL Lithuanian Gay League, and the Estonian LGBT Association.
The first pride event held in Latvia took place in 2005 under the name Riga Pride, as the local equivalent to other pride parades held elsewhere around the world. [1] Political opposition to Pride emerged after organizers received a permit. The Prime Minister of Latvia Aigars Kalvītis publicly opposed the event, and Pride was officially sanctioned only after a court overturned a withdrawal of the permit. The deputy Mayor of Riga Juris Lujāns resigned in protest at the event going ahead. [2]
Following public manifestations of homophobia surrounding the first event in 2005, [3] some members of the LGBT community, their friends, and family members united to found the organisation Mozaīka (Mosaic), in an attempt to improve the understanding of and tolerance for LGBT rights in Latvia. [4]
From 2006, the event was officially known as Riga Pride and Friendship Days, expanding the programme beyond a parade to include an ecumenical church service at St. Saviour's Anglican Church, and seminars on tolerance and LGBT rights. [5] It was significantly disrupted by protesters from "No Pride", among other groups. The European Parliament expressed its disappointment at the failure of Latvian authorities to adequately protect the parade.
The event took place in Riga in 2007 and 2008. [6] [7]
In 2009 the march was allowed by the Administrative Court of Riga. [8] It was the first to be called Baltic Pride and began a rotation annually between each Baltic state capital in cooperation with the Lithuanian Gay League, the Estonian LGBT Association (until 2012 known as Estonian Gay Youth) and their local Pride events. [9] [10]
At the 2012 Baltic Pride, 400 people marched in support of LGBT rights in Latvia, joining them were US diplomats showing support. [11]
In 2015 the parade took place as part of the Europride event in Riga, the first time the pan-European LGBT rights week came to an ex-Soviet state. [12]
In 2018, 8000 people marched in the pride parade held in Riga. [13]
Over the years, the event has been threatened by protests. In 2006, Riga City Council at first tried to refuse permission for the Pride Parade. Similar political debates surrounded the first Pride Parade in 2005.
The LGBT community in Latvia has been divided in its attitudes to the event. In a February 2007 survey of 537 LGBT persons by ILGA-Latvija, 82% of respondents said they were not in favour of holding the planned Riga Pride and Friendship Days 2007, while only 7% felt that these events would help promote tolerance towards sexual minorities. [14] ILGA-Latvija, however, has since changed its stance and now is positive towards the Riga Pride and Friendship Days.
The parade took place in Vilnius in 2010; it was the first public pride march organised in Lithuania.
In 2013, the mayor of Vilnius attempted to relocate the parade to the riverbank (where it had taken place in 2010), on a remote street outside the city centre. Two courts ruled that he could not, and that the Baltic Pride had the right to use the same route other public demonstrations did. [15]
Mayor of Vilnius Remigijus Šimašius from the Liberal Movement has stated he has no opposition to the city hosting the 2016 parade. [16] On 18 June 2016, a crowd of 3,000 Lithuanian LGBT* community members and allies participated in the Baltic Pride March on the central avenue in the centre of Vilnius. The march took place without any serious incidents. People marched from Lukiškių Square to Bernardine Garden, a total of 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi). [17] After the march, the participants gathered at the Loftas art factory for a music concert, featuring performances by Dana International, DJ Leomeo, LaDiva Live, Maria Sam Katseva, Donny Montell, Ruslanas Kirilkinas and Sasha Song.
Baltic Pride was used to challenge the discriminatory application of the "anti-gay propaganda" legislation and to encourage public debate on the recognition of same-sex unions in Lithuania.
The 2019 pride took place between 4–9 June in Vilnius. Around 10,000 people marched in the gay pride on 8 June 2019. [18]
Pride parades have been organised since 2004 in Tallinn. The city hosted Baltic Pride in 2011, 2014 and 2017.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the organisation decided to cancel the event in 2020. The 2020 edition of Baltic Pride was planned to happen in Tallinn. [19]
Aside from ILGA-Europe, the event has also received consistent support from other LGBT organisations in neighbouring countries, most notably RFSL from Sweden and Amnesty International.
The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by an Estonian activist and artist, Heinz Valk, in an article published a week after the 10–11 June 1988 spontaneous mass evening singing demonstrations at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.
The Nasdaq Vilnius is a stock exchange established in 1993 and currently operated by Nasdaq, Inc.. Shares are listed on a Nasdaq Baltic stock exchange together with stocks from Latvia and Estonia.
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Estonia have advanced significantly over the course of the last few decades, especially since the turn of the 21st century. Among the countries which after World War II were controlled by the former Soviet Union, independent Estonia is now considered to be one of the most liberal when it comes to LGBT rights. There is a notable age gap, as younger people tend to be more tolerant and liberal, while older people tend to be more socially conservative.
Russians in the Baltic states is a broadly defined subgroup of the Russian diaspora who self-identify as ethnic Russians, or are citizens of Russia, and live in one of the three independent countries — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — primarily the consequences of the USSR's forced population transfers during occupation. As of 2023, there were approximately 887,000 ethnic Russians in the three countries, having declined from ca 1.7 million in 1989, the year of the last census during the 1944–1991 Soviet occupation of the three Baltic countries.
The Baltic Way or Baltic Chain was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning 690 kilometres (430 mi) across the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which at the time were occupied and annexed by the USSR and had a combined population of approximately eight million. The central government in Moscow considered the three Baltic countries constituent republics of the Soviet Union.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Latvia have expanded substantially in recent years, although LGBT people still face various challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Latvia, but households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Since May 2022, same-sex couples have been recognized as "family" by the Administrative District Court, which gives them some of the legal protections available to married (opposite-sex) couples; as of 2023 November, around 40 couples have been registered via this procedure. In November 2023 registered partnerships were codified into law. These partnerships are available to both same and different sex couples - since July 1, 2024 the implemented registered partnership law has the similar rights and obligations as married couples - with the exception of the title of marriage, and adoption or inheritance rights.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Lithuania have evolved rapidly over the years, although LGBT people still face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Lithuania, but neither civil same-sex partnership nor same-sex marriages are available, meaning that there is no legal recognition of same-sex couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Moldova face legal and social challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same rights and benefits as households headed by opposite-sex couples. Same-sex unions are not recognized in the country, so consequently same-sex couples have little to no legal protection. Nevertheless, Moldova bans discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, and same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1995.
The Association of Nordic and Pol-Balt Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Student Organizations (ANSO) is an international non-profit non-governmental organization striving to improve the quality of life of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans - LGBT - students in the Nordic as well as Baltic countries. ANSO targets its activity to LGBT students in Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Åland.
Moscow Pride is a demonstration of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT). It was intended to take place in May annually since 2006 in the Russian capital Moscow, but has been regularly banned by Moscow City Hall, headed by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov until 2010. The demonstrations in 2006, 2007, and 2008 were all accompanied by homophobic attacks, which was avoided in 2009 by moving the site of the demonstration at the last minute. The organizers of all of the demonstrations were Nikolai Alekseev and the Russian LGBT Human Rights Project Gayrussia.ru. In June 2012, Moscow courts enacted a hundred-year ban on gay pride parades. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that such bans violate freedom of assembly guaranteed by the European Convention of Human Rights.
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1990 Baltic League was an international football competition organized in 1990 between three Baltic states with the ongoing dissolution of the Soviet Union. The league consisting of 18 clubs from the Lithuania SSR, Estonian SSR, the Latvian SSR and a special invitee FC Progress Cherniakhovsk from Kaliningrad Oblast. For Lithuanian teams the league also served as a preliminary tournament for the first post-Soviet Lithuanian football championship.
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