VILNIUS — Outside of the police barriers Saturday, anti-gay protesters were throwing smoke bombs, rocks, bottles and yelling chants such as “pederasts,” “homo Nazis” and “homo diktatura” (“homo dictator”). More than 1,500 people watched Lithuania’s first gay parade from outside the barriers, although most were not participating in the anti-gay demonstration.

Indeed, the parade proved extremely controversial in the conservative Catholic country.

A survey commissioned by the Baltic News Service last week showed that 73.3 percent of Lithuanians do not want the parade to take place.

Baltic Reports editor Nathan Greenhalgh was on the front lines of the police-skinhead clashes Saturday and took these photos. Video footage Greenhalgh shot of the protest can be seen here, starting at 1:34.