Petrelis Files

Russian Lesbian Activist Speaks
in S.F. March 30 at Gay Center

Today I have the pleasant honor of sharing the exciting news that a lesbian leader from Russia, Polina Savchenko (above), will speak on Wednesday, March 30th at 7:30 PM at San Francisco's gay community center. The center is located at 1800 Market Street, at Octavia.

She is the coordinator of international programs for the Vykhod (Coming Out) group in St. Petersburg, where she produced the Queer Cultural Festival and she co-moderates the newly-launched Queerussia online discussion group, where discussions are conducted in English and membership is open to Russians and their friends from other countries.

Polina is traveling through America this month visiting friends and family, and when longtime lesbian advocate Gloria Nieto heard she was coming to the Bay Area, reached out and invited her to hold a public forum.

She said yes, and before you knew it, Gloria, in coordination with Kate Kendell at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is sponsoring the talk, and Rebecca Rolfe at the SF LGBT Community Center, arranged for the March 30 forum to take place.

I'm planning to be at the event to hear Polina speak about lesbian life in Russia, the current state of the gay movement and how American activists can work in solidarity with our Russian counterparts. One idea I've proposed to her is the establishment of a sister city agreement and relationship between San Francisco and St. Petersburg. More on that idea later.

Many thanks to all the lovely lesbians involved in making the forum with Polina happen, and in such a short time, too. Come out on March 30 for what will be a very informative and educational meeting.