EQUAL PostOst

EQUAL PostOst, short for the European Queer Alliance of PostOst Community, is a human-rights organization based in Germany that focuses on the safety, legal protection, psychological support, and relocation of LGBTQ+ people in Russia and other post-Soviet countries. Its work has centered particularly on people exposed to state repression, detention, violence, forced outing, discrimination, and persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The organization emerged against a rapidly deteriorating environment for LGBTQ+ people in Russia. A major catalyst was the Russian Supreme Court's November 2023 decision to designate the so-called international public LGBT movement as extremist. The designation took effect in January 2024 and created additional legal risks for activists, support networks, cultural organizations, and individuals associated—sometimes only symbolically—with LGBTQ+ advocacy. EQUAL PostOst was established in this context by human-rights activists connected to Russian and European LGBTQ+ organizing. Its founder, Evelina Chayka, is a Berlin-based activist who previously participated in the Strategy-31 protest movement in Saint Petersburg. Co-founders identified in public descriptions of the organization include Igor Kochetkov, Olga Baranova, Renat Davletgildeev, and Yaroslav Rasputin. EQUAL PostOst provides practical assistance to people attempting to escape persecution or rebuild their lives outside Russia. Its support can include legal consultations, psychological assistance, information about visas and asylum procedures, help with relocation programs, and coordination with shelters or receiving organizations. The organization has paid particular attention to transgender and non-binary people affected by increasingly transphobic legislation, as well as LGBTQ+ people from the North Caucasus, where violence and coercion can be especially severe. It also supports emergency interventions for detained people through legal assistance and operates discreetly inside Russia because of the risks faced by both clients and organizers. Following the 2024 extremist designation, the organization reported a sharp increase in requests for help, including as many as 12 requests per hour during periods of heightened demand. In one reported case, it helped prevent the deportation of a Russian lesbian from Germany to Russia by arranging an interception in Morocco and transferring her to a third country. Over a six-month period, it reported handling approximately 20 cases and completing six evacuations, mainly involving people from the North Caucasus. EQUAL PostOst has worked with groups including the Anti-War Committee of Russia and North Caucasus SOS, combining emergency protection with psychological support and accommodation referrals. Alongside direct services, EQUAL PostOst documents persecution and seeks to influence European policy. It has called for broader humanitarian admission and relocation pathways for vulnerable LGBTQ+ people and has criticized anti-LGBTQ+ narratives in Europe as well as repression in Russia. Its public cultural work includes exhibitions that present personal objects, testimonies, and visual evidence connected with persecution in the North Caucasus. These projects frame the organization not only as an assistance provider but also as an advocate and documentation initiative for people whose experiences are often hidden by censorship, fear, or forced displacement.

EQUAL PostOst was created by human-rights activists working across Germany and the post-Soviet region in response to the intensifying persecution of LGBTQ+ people in Russia. Its founding followed the legal and political escalation surrounding the Russian Supreme Court's November 2023 classification of the international public LGBT movement as extremist. The ruling, which became effective in January 2024, increased the danger associated with LGBTQ+ organizing and made ordinary forms of public expression, support, and association potentially hazardous. The organization was founded by Evelina Chayka, a Berlin-based activist with prior involvement in the Strategy-31 protests in Saint Petersburg. Other publicly identified co-founders are Igor Kochetkov, Olga Baranova, Renat Davletgildeev, and Yaroslav Rasputin. Before EQUAL PostOst was formed, Chayka had been involved in efforts connected with the international public LGBT movement and its attempt to defend community interests in court. EQUAL PostOst's principal activity is direct support for people at risk. It helps LGBTQ+ individuals navigate visas, asylum claims, humanitarian relocation, and other routes out of Russia. It also provides or coordinates legal and psychological assistance, emergency protection, and access to shelter. The organization has emphasized the needs of transgender and non-binary people affected by anti-trans legislation and of LGBTQ+ people from the North Caucasus, where reports of detention, torture, forced disclosure, and family or state violence have created acute protection needs. After the extremist designation took effect, EQUAL PostOst described a sharp increase in incoming requests, at times reaching roughly 12 per hour. Publicly described results include approximately 20 cases handled over six months and six successful evacuations, predominantly from the North Caucasus. In 2024, it also intervened in the case of a Russian lesbian facing possible deportation from Germany, helping move her from Morocco to a third country rather than returning her to Russia. The organization has collaborated with the Anti-War Committee of Russia, North Caucasus SOS, and other partners to combine legal work, psychological care, and accommodation. The group also works as an advocate and documentary platform. Chayka has compared the persecution of LGBTQ+ people in Russia with genocidal processes, pointing to torture, denunciation, imprisonment, censorship, and the systematic removal of social protections. EQUAL PostOst has urged European governments to develop wider humanitarian pathways for LGBTQ+ people in danger and has opposed the spread of anti-LGBTQ+ political narratives in Europe. Its exhibition program has extended this work into public history and testimony. No Such People Here, shown in Berlin in 2023, presented personal belongings and visual evidence related to persecution in the North Caucasus. It was organized with SK SOS and curated by Anna Narinskaya. Chayka reportedly received threats after the exhibition opened. A later exhibition, Boxed, presented in Berlin in 2025, organized evidence around themes including prison, torture, denunciation, and transphobia. These projects show how EQUAL PostOst combines confidential assistance with public documentation of abuses.

• 2025

  Boxed exhibition shown in Berlin

  [1]EQUAL PostOsten.wikipedia.org

  A seven-part exhibition at Kunstquartier Bethanien examined imprisonment, torture, denunciation, and transphobia through objects and historical material.

• 2024

  Extremist designation takes effect and requests surge

  [1]EQUAL PostOsten.wikipedia.org

  After the designation took effect, EQUAL PostOst reported a sharp increase in requests for evacuation and other forms of assistance.

• 2024

  Reported evacuation and protection activity expands

  [1]EQUAL PostOsten.wikipedia.org

  The organization reported handling about 20 cases over six months and completing six evacuations, mainly involving people from the North Caucasus.

• 2023

  No Such People Here exhibition presented in Berlin

  [1]EQUAL PostOsten.wikipedia.org

  EQUAL PostOst and SK SOS presented an exhibition documenting persecution of LGBTQ+ people in the North Caucasus through personal belongings and visual materials.

• 2023

  Russian Supreme Court designates the international public LGBT movement extremist

  [1]EQUAL PostOsten.wikipedia.org

  The court ruling became a major contextual trigger for the organization's creation and subsequent emergency work.

A Germany-based, cross-border LGBTQ+ human-rights organization combining emergency assistance, evacuation coordination, legal and psychological support, documentation, and European advocacy for people persecuted in Russia and other post-Soviet countries.

• Humanitarian protection

  Emergency evacuation assistance

  Coordination and practical support for LGBTQ+ people attempting to leave Russia because of persecution, detention, violence, or legal danger. Assistance may include route planning, documentation guidance, coordination with partner organizations, and referrals for safe accommodation after departure.

• Legal support

  Legal and asylum guidance

  Information and assistance relating to visas, asylum applications, humanitarian admission, and relocation options. The organization has referenced pathways such as the Social Year, Freelancer Visa, and Au Pair programs as possible routes requiring case-specific evaluation.

• Social support

  Psychological support and shelter referrals

  Psychological assistance and coordination with shelters or receiving organizations for people displaced by anti-LGBTQ+ persecution. This work is conducted in cooperation with partner groups and is intended to address both immediate safety and post-relocation needs.

• Advocacy and documentation · 2023

  Human-rights documentation and exhibitions

  Public-facing documentation projects that use testimony, personal objects, photographs, and archival materials to communicate the realities of LGBTQ+ persecution, particularly in the North Caucasus.

• 2025Boxed

  Germany

  A Berlin exhibition at Kunstquartier Bethanien using seven thematic boxes to examine imprisonment, torture, denunciation, and transphobia. The display included objects and a montage relating to violence and persecution.

  Outcome. The project extended EQUAL PostOst's public documentation and awareness work concerning LGBTQ+ persecution.

  Source
• 2023No Such People Here

  Germany

  An exhibition at Berlin's PrideArt Gallery documenting persecution of LGBTQ+ people in the North Caucasus through personal belongings, drawings, photographs, and representations of torture-related objects. It was organized by EQUAL PostOst and SK SOS and curated by Anna Narinskaya.

  Outcome. The exhibition brought evidence of persecution into a public Berlin venue; public descriptions also report threats against Evelina Chayka after its opening.

  Source

• 2024

  Prioritize emergency evacuation and protection servicesStrategy

  Background

  The Russian Supreme Court's extremist designation and the resulting increase in requests created urgent protection needs for LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender, non-binary, and North Caucasian individuals.

  Action taken

  EQUAL PostOst focused resources on evacuation coordination, legal and psychological support, visa and asylum guidance, and discreet emergency assistance inside Russia.

  Aftermath

  The organization reported handling approximately 20 cases over six months and completing six evacuations, while continuing to collaborate with partner organizations.

  Source

1. 1EQUAL PostOsten.wikipedia.org