"Time and time again, we've thought we've hit rock bottom, but then something new happens and we realize it could get even worse."

Why was the Moscow Community Center started? When we opened the Moscow Community Center, we believed that we would work together with the community, provide psychological and legal support, organize events and carry out advocacy work. Since 2017, we have done all that, but also saved many lives, as big as that sounds. What does the situation look like for LGBTQI people in Russia right now? The situation in Russia is getting worse and worse at rapid speed since 2012. Time and again we have thought that we have reached the bottom, but then something new happens and we realize that it can get even worse. When Russia attacked Ukraine, everyone was in shock and many rushed to leave Russia. The community became fearful because they understood that the persecution of LGBTQI people would worsen and that militarization would lead to more violence and greater impunity for crimes against LGBTQI people. Many from the community began looking for opportunities to flee the country or hide in larger cities where homophobia is not as widespread as in smaller towns. Today, there is only one safe house for LGBTQI people in Russia, the Moscow Community Center, which opened in 2017 with support from the Rainbow Foundation. The center is an indication of what the situation looks like for LGBTQI people in Russia. In the many messages we receive from the community, it is clear how the situation looks like in Russia in general and for the LGBTQI community in particular. Since Russia's invasion, we have been overwhelmed with requests from people who need somewhere to stay in Moscow while they apply for visas or escape by other means. The persecution of activists who have spoken out negatively about the war and government policies has also intensified. Therefore, we have started an open program that accepts activists who are persecuted by the political regime, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Police make home visits warning activists that they will face problems if they participate in demonstrations and many have been forced to leave their homes and find safer alternatives. After Russia started taking Ukrainian cities, many people fled the occupied territories, and Moscow is the main hub before traveling to other countries. Ukrainians fleeing have often left everything they own, have no money to pay rent and are afraid to check into hotels. The Moscow Community Center has also received them. Recently, the situation has worsened and migration has increased. Men who risked being drafted into the war quickly fled. In countries like Kazakhstan and Armenia, you can enter without an international passport, and many Russians have made their way to the cities near the border. LGBTQI people are particularly affected because they have to choose between the risk of being drafted into the war or fleeing to neighboring countries that are even more homophobic than Russia. Transgender people who have not had time to change their legal documents have started coming to Moscow to get the certificates needed to change their papers. They are also supported by the Moscow Community Center. What has the support from the Rainbow Foundation meant for your work? The Rainbow Foundation is not only a partner of ours, it is the first organization that supported the Moscow Community Center and an organization that provided crucial help in a very difficult time for the LGBTQI community. When the regime in Chechnya murdered homosexuals, the Rainbow Foundation quickly collected money and we were able to open the center and were able to smuggle out many who were in danger. That the center still exists today is thanks to the support from the Rainbow Foundation.