The last thing US President Barack Obama did during his trip to Russia for the G20 summit was meet Friday with a group of Russian human rights activists, including members of the gay community, in an encounter that attendants described as symbolic, and a signal to the Russian authorities. The group of nine activists who met with Obama for a little over an hour included three gay activists from LGBT organizations that have not traditionally been invited to take part in meetings with visiting senior US officials. Russia passed a controversial new law earlier this year banning the “promotion of...
