A prominent Russian lawmaker on Friday called on the public to condemn distribution of condoms by AIDS activists at a national monument erected in honor of soldiers who died in World War II, Russian media reported.
"The most serious reaction to such things is not the introduction of new administrative bans, but a sharp condemnation by society," said Olga Batalina, head of the Russian Parliament's committee on family issues. "This would be the most serious weapon, one in the hands of each of us."
A group of LGBT activists distribute condoms on Sunday next to the eternal flame in the central Russia city of Togliatti in an attempt to raise AIDS and HIV awareness. They also placed next to the monument portraits of famous people who had died of AIDS, including former Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
Local war veterans also condemned the incident, but police had not received any complaint from the public.
More than 69,000 new cases of HIV were recorded in Russia last year, and around 720,000 people had been diagnosed with HIV infection in the country since 1987, when the first case was officially registered, according to Gennady Onishchenko, the country's top public health official.
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