Gay Mountaineers Raise Pride Flag On Mountain Named After Russian President Vladimir Putin

Pink Summits are a group of queer mountaineers who are attempting to conquer the Seven Summits (the highest mountains of each continent) and raise the Pride flag on each summit. Recently, the group  raised the Pride flag on Pik Vladimira Putina, the mountain named after Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

Pik Putin is located in the Chuy Region of Kyrgyzstan. The mountaineers placed the flag in protest of Putin’s homophobic, transphobic, imperial, and neo-colonial regime.

Last week, Russian lawmakers supported a bill that would expand its anti-gay propaganda law, that has been used to ban Pride marches and arrest LGBTQI activists. The new bill proposes a fine on any event or act – including, online content, books and films, that promotes homosexuality.

Ukrainian Flag Torn Down

Two other Russian climbers climbed Putin Peak and placed the Ukrainian flag on the peak, to show their support of Ukrainian people after the outbreak of war in their country. However, in less than a few days, the flag was torn down by other climbers.

Pink Summits climbers, decided to place their flag at a harder to reach rock, that way it was still visible to everyone, yet harder to be taken down by other climbers.

Dastan Kasmamytov, the organiser of the Pink Summits has already placed pride flags on top of Mount Elbrus in Russia, where they were stopped and interrogated by the Secret Services of Russia. They have also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, and Mont Blanc in Western Europe.

Activist Faces Threats And Abuse

Because of Dastan’s LGBTQI activism, he frequently experiences physical abuse, threats, and harassment, but his goal with Pink Summits is to prove that this hate and violence only makes him stronger.

The next goal of Pink Summits is to climb Mount Aconcagua in South America, in 2023, and eventually make it all the way to the top of Mount Everest.

Pink Summits have also started a GoFundMe Campaign in response to the hate they received online from social media users in Russia and Central Asia.

“After we have conquered Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, Kosciuszko in Australia, and Kilimanjaro, in Africa,  we have received a lot of comments and personal messages from Russia and Central Asia full of hate, intimidation, and even death threats,” the campaign page said. While some of the funds raised would go to the team’s expeditions, Punk Summits said that the remaining money would go to LGBTQI initiatives in Russia and Central Asia.