SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA  Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov delivered a speech at a recent AIDS conference in Moscow. He reportedly explained his ban of any type of pro-gay gatherings by accusing sexual minorities of spreading AIDS.

That same week San Francisco was remembering Harvey Milk, who in 1977 became the first openly gay politician elected to public office in California. Milk, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was assassinated a year later. But the gay rights movement that Milk championed has come a long way today.

San Francisco today is truly diverse and celebrates its diversity. People from all over the world celebrate their uniqueness with numerous festivals and parades: the Chinese New Year parade in February, St. Patrick’s Day in March, Cinco de Mayo in April, the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender celebration in June.

I only grasped the true sense of diversity when I moved here a few years ago.

One day I found myself in a conference room with a dozen of educated minds, all with diverse backgrounds and countries of origin, different looks, different sexual orientation, different experiences in various industries – all at one table brainstorming on a possible solution of a problem. The creativity and the spectrum of the ideas generated by the group were astounding. “Thinking outside of the box” is really what is valued in the American corporate world. This is why diversity is much encouraged by most of the organizations in the United States.

Embracing diversity is not easy, especially after a long history of isolation. Being brought up in a post-Soviet Union environment, I was lucky to witness both sides. Yes, the Soviet history planted the seeds of the “flock” behavior deep into the people’s minds. For many years people were forced into dressing alike, acting alike, and living alike. They had the same Soviet uniforms, hairstyles and hobbies, the same houses and the same furniture. Any kind of uniqueness was frowned upon and was to be disguised in the deepest possible hole. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many people found themselves learning a new life.

It has been 17 years of freer movement, freer flow of information and more opportunities to learn. Then why do people prefer to voluntarily surround themselves with the virtual wall?

Spreading knowledge and opportunities to learn – and not censoring information -- can help getting rid of ex-Soviet nations of biases and stereotypes. In my high school years, for example, there was not a formal class in sex education. Is there one today? I bet Luzhkov, with his anti-gay statements, did not have one either. I think that the worst enemy is a closed mind, lack of knowledge and unwillingness to learn.

In my opinion, Ukraine and some other post-Soviet nations should embrace diversity instead of stifling it. New ideas will emerge and society will change as people free themselves from the fear of the unknown.