PHOTO: Rainbow Crosswalk Appears by Oslo's Russian Embassy

An unknown activist has painted a crosswalk near the Russian embassy in Oslo to resemble a rainbow.

A photograph of the colorful crossing in Norway's capital began to make the rounds on social media, with many recognizing the political significance of the rainbow as an international symbol of LGBTQ rights.

On Twitter, local resident Anders Giaever tweeted his commentary of the act in Norwegian: "Stockholm effect: Gay colours have spread to the Russian Embassy in Oslo during the night," translated Pink News, a European LGBT news site.

A similiar rainbow-painted crosswalk appeared near the Russian embassy in Stockholm several weeks ago.

In recent months, Russia has been criticized for its ban on so-called homosexual propaganda, its refusal to allow gays and lesbians from other countries to adopt orphaned Russian children, and for a series of violent demonstrations against the country's LGBT citizens.