A day after the rally, President Vladimir Putin signed a bill to take the law nationwide. Dozens of protesters were arrested for violating the city’s “gay propaganda” law, which bans the propagation of homosexuality to children. Gay Pride celebrations across the globe coincided with a violent rally in St Petersburg where activists protesting for gay rights clashed with anti-gay nationalists. The float, paid for by individuals and sponsors, was the culmination of a series of Soviet-themed parties organised by Zalutski.

Pasha Zalutski, the main organiser of the float, told RIA Novosti: “We’re celebrating the opportunity we don’t have in Russia so that we can be honest with the public about the fact that we’re Russian and we’re gay.” Zalutski, 31, moved to the US from his native Belarus after winning in the Green Card Lottery in the early Noughties. The float, organised by a group of New York-based Russia-speaking gays and lesbians, also displayed messages calling for a boycott of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi where local courts have banned Pride House, dedicated lodgings for LGBT athletes. The first-ever Russian float made its debut appearance at New York’s Gay Pride on Saturday with organisers drawing attention to the ongoing plight of LGBT communities in Russia and other Soviet Republics.