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Teacher Denounced by Russian Anti-LGBT Activist Invited Back to Work

Maria Shestopalova Maria Shestopalova / VK

A Krasnoyarsk music teacher who had been dismissed after being denounced by an anti-LGBT activist was invited back to work, the Tayga.info news portal reported Tuesday.

Read more about how a homophobic activist targets Russia's teachers 

Maria Shestopalova had been targeted by Timur Bulatov, a notorious anti-LGBT activist based in St. Petersburg. Bulatov browsed Shestopalova's social media accounts and compiled a "dossier" on her alleged "immoral behavior," which he claimed included sympathy for LGBT rights and "Satanism." Bulatov sent the dossier to the management of Shestopalova's school as well as the local Interior and Education Ministries.

The school's management reversed their decision several days later after the story received wide media publicity.

Shestopalova said she would accept her old position, only "for the sake of the children." 

She also said that if Bulatov does not desist in his denunciations against her, she would consider suing him.

Timur Bulatov claims to have got 65 teachers fired across Russia. According to him, he is "protecting children."

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