ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 30 (UPI) -- A gay activists rallied in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday only to be met by anti-gay demonstrators and the ensuing confrontation led to arrests, police said.

Several dozen LGBT activists were at the sanctioned gay pride event at the Field of Mars when about 200 of anti-gay activists showed up, RIA Novosti reported. The anti-gay group urged police to ban the rally and threw eggs at the gay activists, the Russian news agency said.


A police representative said officers then broke up the protest and arrested dozens of gay rights activists and eight members of the anti-gay group.

The Russian LGBT network claimed, in a post on its Facebook page, that several activists were beaten up by the opposing side and more than 50 were detained by police.

One police officer was injured, Fonatanka.Ru, a local news website, reported.