Violence Mars St. Petersburg Gay Rights Demo

A gay rights demonstration in St. Petersburg, the first such state-sanctioned event to be held in Russia, was greeted by egg-throwing protesters on Saturday.

Radio Free Europe reports that "Orthodox Christians and other radicals" tried to break up the gay rights march, which lasted less than one hour due to the violence. Antigay demonstrators threw eggs and shouted insults, leading to the arrest of 10 people.

The dozen or so gay rights marchers were outnumbered by protesters including "old ladies and skinheads," according to Agence France-Presse.

Last month the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the repeated bans on gay pride parades in Moscow put Russia in violation of the European Human Rights Convention.