Moscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It ranks among the largest urban areas in the world and is a megacity. Moscow is a contrast of the old and the new, and is one of the most varied and exciting cities in the World.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1993. Prior to 1993, same-sex acts were punishable by prison terms of up to 5 years. Gays and lesbians were also subjected to torture and psychiatric treatment. Today, being gay or lesbian in Russia is no longer illegal, but still considered a "perversion". Russia would still rather have its homosexual citizens invisible and silent. There have been attempts at gay pride parades which end in riots and arrests. They even tried to stage a gay pride march this year to take advantage of the spotlight Moscow was enjoying as host to the Eurovision finals, this was not a success! Within a minute of protestors chanting with their rainbow banners, Moscow’s riot police rounded up and arrested everyone involved, there were not too many people taking place in the first place. The present mayor is openly homophobic. LGBT people aren’t widely accepted in Russia. Gays are often attacked and ridiculed on the streets of Russia and therefore many live in secret. In the last few years, mostly due to the demands and openness of younger gay and straight generations, Russian society is slowly becoming more tolerant of LGBT people. Moscow does have a few LGBT clubs and venues, but outwith the city in the smaller towns, to be gay would be scary! Russia has a long way to go yet. By all means visit this city, but just have your wits about you and DO NOT act openly gay.

We’ve listed the few hotels we found to be gay-friendly. There are only a few gay clubs in Moscow and majority of them are not that good. However, there are a few good ones which we’ve listed. Restaurants – we found no gay-friendly places to eat.