sriegert

Guess i'm not going to Russia anytime soon. As critical as I am of US politics, I often forget how backwards most of the perceived 'developed' world is.

itsaboutthejourney

That's it? So you can talk and carry on as if you were at Posh?, dress head to toe in tight Abercrombie?, have sex behind closed doors? keep Grindr running on your phone?

We are so thankful for your expertise ^

justforfun

Disgusting. Don't understand how any gay person would even consider visiting Russia or supporting it in any way.

carlosdca

You have no recourse here. The passing of the anti gay propaganda law in Russia does not give you any rights to cancel your ticket.

And what they have told you is right. If you get off in Helsinki and don't take the continuing flight, you will lose the remainder of your ticket.

Does the airline allow changes for a FEE plus any fare difference?
If not, then you are stuck with the ticket.

$1499 is such a deal. I would fly to Helsinki and drop the other legs and fly a cheap intra-europe flight to a destination of my choice; then try to come back with miles (oneway aaward, thank you AA) or buy an expensive one-way ticket. Or buy a round trip ticket ex-Europe, which means I would have already planned a second vacation to Europe and close the loop with a oneway award.

zigzag

Thank you, I think that is the option I will take as I don't even want to give Russia the money for my visa. This is a perfect time to use miles!

meFIRST

Yes, that is indeed very true. A byproduct of living under a shell 1917-1990, bolstered by other people who live in a shell.

My practical point about things to avoid : Since this is a community of people who travel frequently, some of us have to go to Russia for work assignments etc ( as in Pierre&Cédric some of us live there [ expats ] ) . Unless quitting your job + dumping clients is an option : I wanted to offer some practical advise as someone who goes to Russia 5+ times a year, on how to stay safe if you do need to go, given the new law that limits "gay propaganda" to minors and other "catch all's" inclusions. Take it for what its worth and nothing more is my disclaimer.

Also : The Gate blog written by Brian Cohen and the Skift article which BigGuyInPasadena quoted are both factually incorrect. In particular..."Vladimir Putin — who is the president of Russia — signed last week what became a controversial law which contains a provision allowing the government to arrest and detain up to 14 days foreigners who declare that they are gay." This is utter nonsense and absurd.. The legislation is targeted at those engaging in gay propaganda under the age of 18. A better summary is found here , from a more reputable source than Brian Cohen & Skift. Those that like "boys" < 18, best head to BKK or similar.

Sidenote : Madonna is actually banned from St. Petersburg ( I believe) , due to her support of Pussy Riot and her public support of LGBT rights in Russia last summer at a concert outside the Winter Palace. So for those looking to skip LED, you're in good company. If Madonna she ever shows up in Russia again, she needs a good lawyer.

Anyway, some people here will know that I actually retired from flyer talk a few months ago. I semi regretted coming back…….. Now back to blissful retirement……….

N1120A

That's not necessarily true, especially in a far more enlightened country like Finland. Russia's laws put people in physical danger - a danger that they didn't know about before booking. They can and should be able to get a refund.

AJLondon

Agree 100%.

dddc

I wonder what will happen if Russia ever wins Eurovision again?

Eurovision without the gay contingent will be rather boring and probably result in empty halls! And what if a country sends a band with a pro-gay song, let alone gay singers and crew? Are they going to come up and arrest them on stage?

carlosdca

A pro gay song will definitely be against the anti propaganda law.
Being gay is not against the law.

The law signed by Putin would get you 5000 Rubbles ($156) for singing a pro gay song (doing gay propaganda), it does not impose jail time. So, no, the police does not have rights to go up to the stage to arrest anybody. The jail time is for offenders of religious believes.

The article in the first post is full sensationalism. This is a better source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...anda-bill.html

I think saying that someone's life is in danger is over the top. The images of people injured and with wounds are the results of clashes between demonstrators of both sides, not of bashing people simply because they are gay.

carlosdca

It does not really matter how "enlightened" the Finish folks at Finnair are.

What matters is Finnair's Conditions of Carriage, the ticket fare rules, and applicable law. Under those conditions, I think there is really almost no chance that the OP could get a refund or partial refunds. The passing of a law is never a "Force Majeure" event (which is the only thing I can think of the OP could use)

Furthermore, I don't know when the OP got his ticket or what cities he plans to visit, but the anti propaganda law has existed for more than a year now in certain cities, including St. Petersburg. So there is really nothing new here.

Lastly, to say that someone's life is in danger is an exaggeration and hard to prove in this case.

Enlightened Finnair would have cancelled flights to Russia and alert travelers if this was really an issue. They haven't.

WilcoRoger

And Moscow 1980 and Peking 2008. Interestingly, the dictatorships vanished within 10 years of the Games. That would give 5 more years for the Chinese...

Adam1222

First arrests of tourists here: http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publis...icle_13683.php

Even though one could likely go there and take in the wonders of Russian culture without risking arrest, to do so would not only be an implicit endorsement of violations of human rights, but would suggest that gaining entry past the velvet rope into Russia is worth repressing yourself and traveling in fear. I can find borscht and blinis elsewhere.

JDiver

Putin is not alone - unfortunately, polls reveal about half of Rusisians surveyed believe LGBT people should not enjoy all the civil liberties of non-LGBT people.

Now we have laws in Russia that:

Ban anyone, couples or single, from countries that allow any kind of marriage equality from adopting Russian children;

anyone invoved in "homosexual propaganda" can be arrested for violating pornography laws (this could putatively include providing factual information to counter anti-gay propaganda if it is "accessible" to anyone under 18);

under consideration is a law that would forcibly remove children from parents suspected of being gay or lesbian, whether adoptive or biological parents.

Interesting article by Harvey Fierstein in the NY Times 21 July.

This kind of proaganda is often either a prelude to, or providing implicit permission to, an increase in gay bashing - life risk could indeed be an issue under such circumstances, IMO, and the police and prosecutorial officials would most likely cover any such actions up or minimize them. Two homophobic murders have occurred in Russia within the last couple of months or so already (Google it - Reuters et al carry the accounts).

In my opinion, I'd advise people to forego visiting Russia at this time. If one must go, I'd also recommend being very wary - IMO this is a wild goose chase to divert attention from the significant problems in Russia, just one more false creation of a blame system and no opportunity to defend oneself.

I would ask my LGBT friends why put themselves at risk of such scapegoating and gross human rights violations, and I will certainly not consider visiting Russia as a tourist for any reason. Adam1222 said it well, IMO.

AJLondon

Agree 100%. ^