MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 18, 2014

New York, NY (February 18, 2014) — Responding to a Freedom of Information request by Queer Nation, an LGBT rights group, records show that the New York State and New York City pension plans own stock in Russian telecommunications giant MegaFon, whose CEO and major shareholder jointly control the Russian social media megasite vk.com, used by neo-Nazis and vigilantes to plan and promote violence against LGBT Russians.

 

Queer Nation is demanding that state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and city Comptroller Scott Stringer press Ivan Tavrin, the CEO of MegaFon, and Alisher Usmanov, MegaFon’s major investor, to force vk.com to permanently remove the pages used by neo-Nazis and anti-LGBT vigilantes. The comptrollers must also organize other institutional investors with holdings in MegaFon or VKontakte, vk.com’s parent, to join that effort.

 

Tavrin and Usmanov, both supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, jointly own 52 percent of VKontakte. The social media website is frequently referred to as the “Russian Facebook.” Since acquiring that controlling stake, Tavrin and Usmanov have placed cronies in senior positions at vk.com, according to published reports.

 

Blogger John Aravosis broke this story on AMERICAblog today. 

“Russian neo-Nazis and nationalists have used vk.com to execute and publicize 1,500 kidnappings, beatings, and torture,” said John Weir, a member of Queer Nation. “MegaFon CEO and its primary shareholder have a moral and legal responsibility to shut down the pages used by these criminals.” 

The New York State Common Retirement Fund, which DiNapoli administers, owns 22,797 global depositary receipts issued by MegaFon and the New York City Employee Retirement System, which is headed by Stringer, owns 22,399 global depositary receipts issued by the company.

 

Last June, the Russian government enacted legislation that effectively bans any pro-LGBT statement in public or private and on the Internet. In July, a law banning adoptions of Russian children by people from any jurisdiction that allows same sex marriage took effect.

Last year, the Russian parliament considered legislation that would allow the government to remove children from a household headed by a gay or lesbian parent. While that legislation was withdrawn ahead of the Olympics, activists believe the parliament will reintroduce it after the Games are over.

Queer Nation has mounted a series of high-profile protests dating to July 2013. They include a February 6 protest at the Russian consulate in New York City, December 12 actions at two NBC employee Christmas parties and earlier confrontations with Moscow government officials at meetings promoting US investment in Russia. The group has also targeted supporters of Putin performing at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall as well as “Russia Day” at the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Queer Nation has also targeted corporate sponsors of the Olympics, most notably Coca-Cola and McDonalds, through pointed, successful social media campaigns.

Queer Nation is a direct action group dedicated to ending discrimination, violence and repression against the LGBT community.