Russian activists announced the first government-permitted Gay Pride march, but less than 24-hours later, local officials said they would not let the event go ahead, even in a town with a population of only seven people. The initial announcement, made by one of the country’s most famous LGBT rights activists, followed a series of bids from campaigners to hold a Pride event in Russia, this year. In response to an application for holding a Pride event in the city of Novoulyanovsk, the founder of Gay Russia, Nikolai Alekseev, said he received a letter instructing him the event could take place if he moved it outside the city. The stated reason for the move was that the route “passes through the central part of the city of Novoulyanovsk… which is visited by a large number of citizens, including minors,” according to the letter Alekseev posted on his social media account.