If you take the F Train in Brooklyn all the way out to Brighton Beach, you might think you've disembarked in St Petersburg: The streets are lined with shops selling fermented kvass soda, Lena Katina CDs, Russian-language newspapers and other reminders of the homeland many residents left behind.

Southern Brooklyn neighborhoods like Brighton Beach, Midwood and Sheepshead Bay are filled with Russian immigrants and their second-and-third generation offspring, drawn to a familiar language and culture. But for LGBT residents, there's another familiar sign of home—one much less inviting: an endemic stripe of homophobia.

“It was almost like I’d never left Russia,” Denis Kruglenko told The New York Times. “Being gay around here is a constant danger.” There are no gay clubs in the area, and same-sex couples don't walk the street hand-in-hand. In fact, most LGBT residents are still deeply closeted.

But on Saturday, members of that community held the inaugural Brighton Beach Pride, what's believed to be the first Pride event in the U.S. targeting a Russian-speaking LGBT community.

The rally drew some 200 people to the boardwalk, from asylum-seekers to queer New Yorkers from other boroughs, and was organized by RUSA LGBT, which is also involved in aiding gay men facing persecution in Chechnya. Demonstrators chanted in Russian and English, holding signs that read “Refuse Fascism” and “Nyet to Homophobia.”

For some, it was their first Pride. They came from a country where such displays are illegal, and live in an enclave where it could still mean harassment and ostracization.

“We’re surrounded by Russians, but it’s like they’re all frozen in time with these old Soviet values,” said Lyosha Gorshkov, who moved to Broolkyn in 2014. “I get nonstop abuse from everyone in the neighborhood: women in my building, men outside of bars, even children.”

But, writer Masha Gessen told the crowd, "Pride is about going into a place where it can be frightening.”

And yes, some participants may face repercussions but Saturday's event was a powerful first step in raising visibility. And it wasn't all serious: At least a few men donned drag, stepping into traditional Russian gowns and headdresses.

How do you say "Chantay you stay" in Russian?