Gay city

In a lot of ways, Russia remains more conservative than most European countries, and unfortunately St. Petersburg in particular has made international headlines recently for its desire to bring in laws limiting the gay community - which is why the LGBT scene in St. Petersburg is a lot smaller and more-hidden than you would expect for a city of almost five million. Still, there are a handful of clubs and a couple of community organisations, which have useful information for international gay and lesbian travellers.

Useful web sites:

www.gay.ru (national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual site)

www.krilija.sp.ru (St. Petersburg Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Centre and travel agency)

www.xs.gay.ru (good guide to St. Petersburg's gay and lesbian scene, but only in Russian)