Russian teacher 'fired for protesting anti-gay bill'

A Russian teacher said Monday that he was fired from his post at a prestigious Moscow school after protesting against a draft anti-gay bill being discussed in parliament.

"I have been fired from the school where I worked for seven years," said Ilya Kolmanovsky, an award-winning biology teacher at Moscow's "School No. 2", a top public school with an emphasis on maths and science.

Kolmanovsky wrote on his Facebook page that the sudden dismissal in the middle of the school year came after he participated in Friday's protest against the proposed bill to ban "gay propaganda" to minors. He said he had argued with militant anti-gay activists who "sang religious hymns."

The activists apparently pulled some strings after the protest to get him fired, Kolmanovsky claimed.

"My opponents found out about me and my school and sent complaints to the administration, and on Monday the principal told me he is firing me to save the school," he said.

"I don't blame the principal," wrote Kolmanovsky, who in 2011 received a prestigious teaching award from one of Russia's largest foundations, "he knows better who he is dealing with."

Despite the protests, the Russian Duma lower house of parliament on Friday passed in initial reading a bill introducing fines for "gay propaganda" -- a loosely worded term that critics said will essentially make any self-expression by homosexuals, such as holding hands, illegal.

Public school teachers in Russia often face pressure from local and regional authorities to avoid voicing any opposition views.

Last year a teacher in the Moscow region was fired after complaining of being forced to attend pro-Vladimir Putin rallies during his election campaign.

Another teacher in Saint Petersburg who worked at a polling station during the election was forced to resign after accusing her superiors of coercing the polling station staff into fraud.