After a long period of oppression of individuals and the absence of organizations, a
movement of sexual minorities in Russia began in 1989. I analyze the initial period of the
movement, arguing that the public organizations and groups of the initial period realized
agenda and interests of the previously existed nation-wide community. On the basis of
interviews with activists along with analysis of the early gay and lesbian press I show manners
of their public self-presentation, agenda and specificity of the leaders’ attitude to the
organizational activity in that period. I describe the three main perspectives that structured the
movement and show differences between the first and the second (current) period in the
movement’s post-soviet history. Besides better known organizations in Moscow and
Leningrad/St.Petersburg, similar groups appeared in other parts of the country simultaneously,
that I explain as an effect of the deep social and political transformation of the period. I
demonstrate also that attempts to politicize the movement in the early 1990s were unsuccessful,
and that they resulted in a deep de-politization of the movement in the second period. In the last
part, I offer a case study of an activist’s attitudes and ways of organizational activity in early
1990s, which illustrates how these organizations have been established and how one activist
perceived the urgent aims of the community. I also show that the Russian movement, in general,
hardly came close to appropriating a collective identity as part of the 'global LGBT movement.'
Original Title
Mikhail Nemtsev How did a Sexual Minorities Movement Emerge in Post-Soviet Russia? An Essay. 2008
After a long period of oppression of individuals and the absence of organizations, a
movement of sexual minorities in Russia began in 1989. I analyze the initial period of the
movement, arguing that the public organizations and groups of the initial period realized
agenda and interests of the previously existed nation-wide community. On the basis of
interviews with activists along with analysis of the early gay and lesbian press I show manners
of their public self-presentation, agenda and specificity of the leaders’ attitude to the
organizational activity in that period. I describe the three main perspectives that structured the
movement and show differences between the first and the second (current) period in the
movement’s post-soviet history. Besides better known organizations in Moscow and
Leningrad/St.Petersburg, similar groups appeared in other parts of the country simultaneously,
that I explain as an effect of the deep social and political transformation of the period. I
demonstrate also that attempts to politicize the movement in the early 1990s were unsuccessful,
and that they resulted in a deep de-politization of the movement in the second period. In the last
part, I offer a case study of an activist’s attitudes and ways of organizational activity in early
1990s, which illustrates how these organizations have been established and how one activist
perceived the urgent aims of the community. I also show that the Russian movement, in general,
hardly came close to appropriating a collective identity as part of the 'global LGBT movement.'
After a long period of oppression of individuals and the absence of organizations, a
movement of sexual minorities in Russia began in 1989. I analyze the initial period of the
movement, arguing that the public organizations and groups of the initial period realized
agenda and interests of the previously existed nation-wide community. On the basis of
interviews with activists along with analysis of the early gay and lesbian press I show manners
of their public self-presentation, agenda and specificity of the leaders’ attitude to the
organizational activity in that period. I describe the three main perspectives that structured the
movement and show differences between the first and the second (current) period in the
movement’s post-soviet history. Besides better known organizations in Moscow and
Leningrad/St.Petersburg, similar groups appeared in other parts of the country simultaneously,
that I explain as an effect of the deep social and political transformation of the period. I
demonstrate also that attempts to politicize the movement in the early 1990s were unsuccessful,
and that they resulted in a deep de-politization of the movement in the second period. In the last
part, I offer a case study of an activist’s attitudes and ways of organizational activity in early
1990s, which illustrates how these organizations have been established and how one activist
perceived the urgent aims of the community. I also show that the Russian movement, in general,
hardly came close to appropriating a collective identity as part of the 'global LGBT movement.'
AN ESSAY By Mikhail Nemtsev With a Preface by Prof. Laurie Essig Tale !" #!$te$ts Table of Contents.................................................................................................................................... 1 Preface..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 4 Acno!ledge"ents................................................................................................................................. # $eneral idea% ey ter"s% and theoretical a&&roach.................................................................................. ' Cha&ter 1. (o"ose)uality in the *o+iet ,nion before its de-cri"inali.ation..................................... 1' *o"e re"ars about /se)uality0 in the *o+iet ,nion...................................................................... 1' (o"ose)ual co""unity in the ,**1 in late *o+iet ,nion............................................................ 22 (o! to na"e the co""unity3 The &roble" of rele+ant na"ing ....................................................24 Cha&ter 2. The e"ergence of the 1ussian se)ual "inorities "o+e"ent after 1565. Periodi.ation of the "o+e"ent in the conte)t of late-*o+iet and Post-*o+iet 1ussia..................................................... 2' The first &ublic ho"ose)ual organi.ations% their interests and ai"s............................................... 44 Cha&ter 2. As&ects of 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent............................................................... #4 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent and national &olitics............................................................ #4 8ational tradition and international L$BT Co""unity in the grou& identity of early 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent............................................................................................................ 92 Ethos of the "o+e"ent7s acti+ist. The case of :lga ;rau.e........................................................... '1 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................. 61 A&&endi). The list of the inter+ie!ees.................................................................................................. 6# Literature and sources............................................................................................................................69 *ources............................................................................................................................................. 52 1 P%e"a&e It has been nearly ten years since the &ublication of "y boo% Queer in Russia <=ue ,ni+ersity Press% 1555>. What a &erfect ti"e% then% to read ?ihail 8e"tse+7s essay on the e"ergence of a se)ual "inorities "o+e"ent in 1ussia. Let "e begin !ith the difference in our to&ics@ Aueer +s. se)ual "inorities. I chose the !ord /Aueer0 <not gays or Aueers or se)ual "inorities> because I did not !ant to tal about actual &eo&le but ho! non-nor"ati+e se)ual &ractices !ere thought about in 1ussian culture% both by those !ho &artici&ate in the" <i.e. se)ual "inorities> and those !ho do not. 8e"tse+7s !or slices into the &roble" fro" a different angle@ he !ants to no! !hy and ho! a "o+e"ent of se)ual "inorities e"erged so Auicly after the fall of the *o+iet ,nion !hen before that &oint there !as no s&ace in the &ublic s&here for se) of any ind% let alone Aueer se). This Auestion is an e)tre"ely interesting one for anyone interested not Bust in se)ual "inorities or e+en "ore abstract notions of Aueer se)% but in social "o+e"ents "ore generally. 8e"tse+7s ans!er to the Auestion of ho! a 1ussian gayClesbian "o+e"ent e"erged see"ingly out of no!here is a good one. (e theori.es that such a "o+e"ent could e"erge in the &ost-*o+iet &eriod because all the &ieces of a social "o+e"ent !ere already in &lace@ a shared notion of identity and co""unity as !ell as a shared sense of !hat needed to be done first@ the decri"inali.ation of ho"ose)ual acts. 8e"tse+7s ans!er to ho! a "o+e"ent could e"erge so Auicly is also !hy such a "o+e"ent fell a&art soon after!ards@ once ho"ose)uality !as decri"inali.ed% the i"agined co""unity of se)ual "inorities actually had no co""on agenda to hold it together. This is% I thin% !hat 8e"tse+7s !or really gi+es us@ a !ay to thin through the &roble" of social "o+e"ents based on identity &olitics. Dudith Butler% in her groundbreaing critiAue of fe"inis" <Gender Trouble% 1565> suggests that no "o+e"ent based on an identity can last for long !ithout endless fissures and fractures. As soon as a "o+e"ent is built u&on a clai" to be so"ething- lie /a !o"an0 or /gay0- it "ust si"ultaneously engage in endless argu"ents about !ho is and is not that so"ething. As Butler &oints out% this is the +ery &roble" Erederic 8iet.sche s&oe to in his /"eta&hysics of being.0 *ince any clai" to /be0 reAuires that others acce&t that clai"% that one successfully /&erfor"0 that identity% identity is al!ays an unstable clai" to &o!er. It is the +ery instability of identity that "aes it difficult if not i"&ossible to build a social "o+e"ent- at least in the long ter"- on the basis of identity- a lesson that A"erican acti+ists ha+e learned o+er and o+er again as one identity-based "o+e"ent after another has fallen a&art since the height of their &o!er in the 1594s and 15'4s. Perha&s by co"å the birth <and death> of a "o+e"ent of se)ual "inorities in 1ussia !ith si"ilar "o+e"ents in the ,*% !e get the best &ers&ecti+e on !hy the "o+e"ent did not last but 2 "ight for" again around other &ressing issues. In the ,*% after a strong /gay liberation0 "o+e"ent in the 1594s that lined the o&&ression of ho"ose)uals !ith other for"s of social &o!er <such as racis" and se)is">% gay acti+is" faded a!ay as the radical &olitics of the ti"e !ere re&laced !ith "ore assi"ilationist goals as o+ert discri"ination !as sto&&ed by changes in both the la! and the culture. Then ca"e the 1564s and AI=* !hen gay "en once again rallied around a co""on goal and identity. This "o+e"ent <e.g. ACT-,P> also broe u& once AI=* beca"e- at least for those !ith access to &har"aceuticals- a controllable disease. A si"ilar series of e+ents ha&&ened for lesbians- !ho reached the height of their acti+is" in the 15'4s% !hen they lined their se)ual identity to the concerns of fe"inis" and a larger critiAue of &atriarchy. This acti+is" faded as fe"inis" too beca"e "ore assi"ilationist in its goals as so"e !o"en !ere increasingly gi+en access to education and &rofessions. Today !e see the ree"ergence of Aueer acti+is" in the ,* around t!o issues@ sa"e-se) "arriage and transgender rights. Although these t!o "o+e"ents ha+e both changed the !ay A"erican society o&erates% they too !ill fade a!ay as the needs of the &articular grou&s are "et. *a"e se) "arriage is legal in a gro!ing nu"ber of states. /Transgender0 is increasingly listed as a category in need of legal and institutional &rotection <for e)a"&le% "y uni+ersity &rotects /di+ersity of gender e)&ression0 as do "any other schools and !or &laces>. Perha&s !hat is "ost interesting for those interested in !hy social "o+e"ents for" or do not% is that a rhetoric of social Bustice and yes% e+en re+olution% has been "ore or less absent fro" se)ual "inorities social "o+e"ents in the ,* and 1ussia. Because se)ual "inorities ha+e organi.ed on the basis of /identity0 and for their o!n interests% they ha+e been unable to build the sort of broad-based coalitions that "ight actually create long lasting "o+e"ents. If% for instance% se)ual "inorities in both countries began to fight for issues of econo"ic and social Bustice <e.g. healthcare for allF s&ending less on the "ilitary and "ore on education>% then coalitions could be built bet!een acti+ists regardless of se)ual orientation or gender e)&ression or any other &articular identity. But if the 21 st century is anything lie the 24 th % that &robably !on7t ha&&en. ?odernity de"ands that !e identify- as a race% a nationality% a class% a se)ual orientation. ,nless !e finally lea+e the de"ands of "odernity behind% identity &olitics !ill continue to do"inate social "o+e"ents. ?o+e"ents of se)ual "inorities% in 1ussia and in the ,*% !ill &ush the interests of so"e Aueers to get their rights <e.g. "arriage% AI=* drugs% etc>. These "o+e"ents !ill ebb and flo!% as they succeed and fail to get !hat they !ant% but they !ill ne+er unite a broad-based coalition of &eo&le !oring for a better !orld. Indeed% they !on7t e+en unite all the Aueers% !ho !ill continue to fracture and fight and &olice the "eaning of their "o+e"ents Bust lie e+ery other identity-based social "o+e"ent. La'%ie Essi( Assistant Professor in Sociology, Middlebury College, Vermont, USA 2 I$t%!)'&ti!$ This short essay is based on "y ?asterGs =issertation% co"&leted in the $ender *tudies =e&art"ent of the Central Euro&ean ,ni+ersity in the s&ring of 244'. In this research% I tired to conce&tuali.e and e)&lain Auic and <co"&arably> successful e"ergence of &ublic se)ual "inoritiesG acti+ity in the +ery end of the ,**1 <in the !ae of Boris Elt.inGs 1ussia>% along !ith its subseAuent decline% &artially &redestined by the &re+ious successes. It !as necessary to !rite a ind of social history of the "o+e"ent first% for such a re+ie! still did not e)ist. Thus% I !as to co"&lete t!o Bobs si"ultaneously@ in+estigate the history of the "o+e"ent as "o+e"ent% and conce&tuali.e the history in ter"s of sociology of social "o+e"ent. By its "ethod and subBect% the essay "ust be &laced on uncertain inter"ediate land bet!een social anthro&ology and social history. In this introduction% I !ould lie to say a fe! !ords about the boo in general. *tudying history of non-nor"ati+e se)uality all o+er the !orld !hile in the CE,% I !as i"&ressed by the fact ho! &oorly 1ussia had been re&resented in the history. It !as &articularly strange in co"&arison !ith the general interest to 1ussian society &aid by +arious scholars in do"ains of culture% society and &olitics. Thus% I found it an urgent as !ell as interesting tas to e)&lore the history of non-nor"ati+e se)uality in 1ussia to contribute to the general history of se)uality and "ae in "ore co"&le). At the sa"e ti"e one should understand the status and &osition of the &ractices% na"ed in this boo /non-nor"ati+e se)uality0 to study history and sociology of se)uality in 1ussia &ro&erly. 1ussian society does not ha+e a tradition of /&olitics of identity0. Therefore% historical sociology and anthro&ology of L$BT "o+e"ent in this &articular cultural en+iron"ent recei+es in &ost-*o+iet 1ussia an interesting case of ho! se)ual "inorities "ay for" a social "o+e"ent% taing ad+antages% if any% of their &articular social and cultural circu"stances in the gi+en society. There are other reasons to study situation !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality in 1ussia. =uring last t!o years before the &a&er !as !ritten% the &olitical situation of 1ussian L$BT co""unity had changed. Ero" the one side% ho"ose)uality has been &olitici.ed by right-!ing and conser+ati+e &olitics that began &ublicly stig"ati.e ho"ose)uals7 in their &ublic s&eeches and la!-"aing discussions. 4 (o"o&hobic attitudes are still rather !ide-s&read in the country% but it !as only recently that they entered the official &olitical discourse% recast as a "atter of the state &olicy <Haya+lenie 244'>. In 2449% /$ay Pride%0 &roBected and organi.ed by a grou& of L$BT acti+ists in ?osco! % united by &roBect GayRussia.ru% !as banned and se+erely dis&ersed by "etro&olitan authorities. Thereby% the +ery conce&t of /gay &ride0 Auite suddenly recei+ed nation-!ide &ublicity. The status and condition of gays and lesbians in the country suddenly ha+e beco"e !idely dis&uted by "ass "edia and citi.ens. *i"ultaneously% the co""unity itself is being challenged by slight but a&&rehensible boosting of state ho"o&hobia% !hich &artially reflects acti+ity of the leaders of the Ggay &rideG% !hose tactics of self-&resentation is not !holly a&&ro+ed by national L$BT co""unity. The situations changes considerably Auicly. It "aes sense to co"&are this ongoing situation to !ith the &eriod !hen lesbigay co""unity entered the &ublic discourse for the first ti"e <fifteen years ago>. =ue to "y o!n &ersonal circu"stances I could not re+ie! and change the te)t before the &ublication dee&ly enough. I ha+e "ade s"all refine"ents% e)&anded se+eral frag"ents that had been abridged in the dissertation% and &ut so"e "ore references. The /original0 te)t of the dissertation is freely a+ailable on the !eb-site of CE, library <.library.ceu.!u>. I ho&e this s"all essay !ould contribute to the transfor"ation of se)ual and gender regi"es in 1ussia. I lie to thin about the te)t as an initial &art in a research of transfor"ation of se)uality in conte"&orary 1ussia% !hich I ho&e to be able% to continue !ith $od7s hel&% sooner or later. A&k$!*le)(eme$ts As far as the !or !as !ritten to be sub"itted to Central Euro&ean ,ni+ersity =e&art"ent of $ender *tudies% the role of the =e&art"ent !as funda"ental on e+ery ste& of !riting the te)t% fro" the first "o"ent I gras&ed the idea till the +ery defense. E+ery "e"ber of the defense co""ittee did so "uch to "ae it a&&ear. These !ere &rof. Allaine Cer!ona% &rof. Elissa (el"s% "y su&er+isor% and Es.ter Ti"Ir% !ho introduced "e into the alluring !orld of Aueer studies. I a" really grateful to all of the"% but I should not "iss the chance to than the entire faculty% es&ecially the &rofessors and their assistants% along !ith other CE, staff% under !hose instructions I got so "uch during that unforgettable acade"ic year@ Er.sJbet BarIt% Erancisca de (aan% K+a Eodor% =usica 1isti+oBe+ic% =a+id 1idout% Andrea PetL% *o&hie (o!lett% Das"ina Luic% *usan Hi""er"ann% =a+id Weber"an% E"il Iuga% ?Iria *.JcsJnyi% Andreas Meiter% 8atIlia Mersegi% Dudit Hotter% K+a Bodogan. I than $od for the &ossibility to discuss the idea and content of dissertation !ith Anna ;utu.o+a% Artyo" ;os"arsy% ="itry Minni% ?aria I+anche+a <it surely should not "ean that I forgot other CE, friends>. I !ant to than 8atalia P. ;os"arsy% 8atalia ;os"arsy% Petr ;os"arsy for their trust and friendshi&. Without selfless hel& of 8iolai Barasho+% for # his selfless hel& N !ithout hi"% this research si"&ly !on7t e)ist. I "ust than &eo&le !ho taught "e gender studies and anthro&ology of se)uality for the first ti"e N Tatiana Barchuno+a <8o+osibirs> and 8ade.hda 8arto+a <*t. Petersburg>. A &erson !ho has effecti+ely influenced "y !ay of thining about se)uality is &rof. Igor ;on <?osco!>. I a" es&ecially grateful to hi" for his collection of early 1ussian gay and lesbian &ress that he ga+e into "y dis&osal.F the !or !ould be incurably &oor !ithout that collection% !hich I &assed to the :&en *ociety Archi+e in Buda&est. *e+eral useful sources !ere recently &ro+ided to "e by *+yatosla+ *here"et <;ie+>. I !ant to than "y ?osco! and *t. Petersburg inter+ie!ees !ho al!ays !ere ready to s&end their ti"e !ith "e% ans!ering Auestions and e)&laining ob+ious "atters. I cannot e)&ress ho! i"&ortant !as your &ersonal i"&act on "e. =uring the research I !as lucy to beca"e acAuainted !ith !onderful &eo&le. Prof. Laurie Essig% &aid attention to the essay and !rote an e)tensi+e and insightful introduction to it% it !as s gesture of a gesture friendshi&. Than youO ?y &arents% Irina 8e"tse+a and Puri 8e"tse+% and "y brother *ergey% ne+er refuse to su&&ort "e in all "y &roBects and initiati+es including Auite strange and shady ones% I cannot e)&ress ho! funda"entally i"&ortant their trust and lo+e is for "e. I also !ant to than Malentina and ;atya. The last% but not the least% to be &ointed out here is Merlag =r. ?Qller Publishing (ouse% !hich suggestion to turn this ?A thesis into a boo !as a big sur&rise for "e. It !as Agnes 8elhQbel !ho hel&ed "e to fulfill the &roBect. 9 Ge$e%al i)ea+ ke, te%ms+ a$) the!%eti&al a--%!a&h The social history and anthro&ology of se)ual "inorities in the &ost *o+iet 1ussia has not been studied &ro&erly yet. The fact is a"a.ing% if !e loo at co"&arably de+elo&ed scholarshi& on 1ussian ho"oerotic literature <Engelstein 1552F ;arlinsy 1551% 1565>. =etailed histories of non-nor"ati+e se)uality and sa"e-se) se)uality often did not &ay attention to history of this region <Ada" et al. 1555>. There is only one social anthro&ological "onogra&h dedicated to the subBect <Essig 1555F I consider one of its ey &oints belo!>. In 1ussia% u& till no!% the "ost &o&ular and !idely used !ors are Igor ;on7s o+er+ie!s !ritten in "id-1554s% although one should not o+erloo se+eral dissertations describing conte"&orary lesbian and gays co""unities that ha+e a&&eared in recent years <;u&riyano+a 2444% 8oso+a 2442% Morontso+ 1555>. ,nfortunately% they do not go dee& into the details of the co""unitiesG social history. Thus% I thin that e+ery ne! !or in this field is i"&ortant both in ter"s of de+elo&"ent of anthro&ology and gender sociology of 1ussian society% and in ter"s of hel&ing the co""unity to ad+ocate their rights% due to an ob+ious fact that &ublic no!ledge about the co""unity legiti"i.es its clai"s for rights and &ublic acno!ledge"ent. ?y "ain !.e&tive is to offer a general +ie! at the history of the "o+e"ent !hich "ay hel& to figure out the &rocess of self-establish"ent of the se)ual "inorities7 co""unity in this &articular social and &olitical conte)t. I discern re&eated &atterns of self-deter"ination of the organi.ations% !hich I ha+e na"ed /trends.0 (a+ing been sha&ed in the initial &eriod as they !ere% these trends are still discernible today. I argue that the !hole &rocess of e"ergence !as &re-defined by the conditions of the society that had been before first grou&s &erfor"ed their /co"ing out0. (ence% as "y &!%e /'esti!$s about the se)ual "inorities7 co""unity I defined the follo!ing ones@ 1> What !ere the social and &olitical conditions of the for"ing and e)istence of the co""unity before its &ublic /co"ing out0 in 1565-15543 This Auestion is considered in the 1 st cha&ter. ' 2> What ind of thing !as the /co""unity0 in general% as a co"&licated but united obBect of research in the historical &eriod I loo at3 I !ould discuss this in the 2 nd cha&ter. 2> What !ere the characteristic features of the "o+e"ent !hich !ould hel& to understand its social% cultural ad &olitical self-organi.ation3 This Auestion is +ery co"&licated% therefore in the three &arts of the 2 rd cha&ter I concentrate on three as&ects of it@ 1> &olitical self-&ositioning of the "o+e"ent <!ith the inner trends reflected by different relations to &olitical acti+ities a"ong the +ery co""unity>% 2> its self-&ositioning in national and global cultures% and 2> !ays of indi+idual &artici&ation in the &ublic acti+ities in that initial &eriod. In the Conclusion% I su""ari.e the findings and try to su&&ose the directions for further in+estigations. The first "ethodological &roble" one "ust face% e)&loring this to&ic is ho! to theori.e the +ery subBect I dealt !ith. I ha+e already i"&lied the ter" /co""unity0 abo+e. (o!e+er% so"eti"es I doubted !hether I should a&&ly this ter" s&eaing about a grou& of &eo&le !ho ha+e al"ost nothing in co""on besides their se)ual orientation% !hich is considered <by outsiders% but often by the"sel+es% too> /abnor"al0 and thereby /outla!0. It is necessary to ha+e e+idence in taing this grou& of &eo&le for a co""unity% at least &otentially. By /&!mm'$it,0 I denote <1> an analytically defined set of indi+iduals and their grou&s !ho &ractice the sa"e social "ractice <in the &articular case of the grou& I s&ea about% such &ractice is the sa"e-se) se)ual acti+ities and ho"oeroticis">% <2> !ho are interconnected by for"al and infor"al relations% <2> ha+e a certain sense of grou& solidarity and are <4> socially defined <by others and by the"sel+es> as belonging to one category. E+en if a &erson refuses to signify herself or hi"self by the category% the +ery &ossibility of being signified in that "anner is "eaningful. These features allo! the &ersons to for" a collecti+e identity. E+en if these &eo&le do not actually no! each other% and ha+e no articulated feeling of solidarity% they ha+e sufficient reason to unite !ith other &eo&le !ho are able to share the sa"e social e)&erience. Long before the end of the *o+iet regi"e% a real ho"ose)ual /co""unity0 has e"erged in the country% considering a distinct cultural style% s&ecific sociolect and !ides&read underground net!ors around !hich the co""unity has clustered itself. 6 It is i"&ortant to note that se+eral &ersons fro" the grou& &roduce a s&ecific attitude to the grou&% !hich I !ill call an /et!os0% after ?ar Blasius <1552>. These &ersons imagine the grou& <any big grou& is an /i"agined0 one% the sa"e "ust be said about any nation-!ide co""unity <Anderson 1551>> as a set of &eo&le !ho share the sa"e social e)&erience% ha+e co""on social and &olitical interests and% conseAuently% may organi.e a social "o+e"ent to &ro"ote these interests. The co""unity has !ishes and &roble"s% !hich should be satisfied and sol+ed% thus there a&&ear acti+ists !ho identify the"sel+es !ith these needs. An e)e"&lary story of such acti+ist is &resented in the last section. In this research% it is set of +arious acti+ities of grou&s there &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality gathered that is conce&tuali.ed as /m!veme$t.0 I define the /social "o+e"ent0 as a set of &ublicly acting grou&s% !ho ha+e their agendas and &rogra"s% and try to reali.e their social% cultural and &olitical obBecti+es in the fa+or of the co""unity. We "ay s&ea about a "o+e"ent !hen these grou&s share the sa"e agenda and "ay coo&erate <e+en being critici.ed by the "e"bers of the co""unity for un!illingness to coo&erate effecti+ely>. The "o+e"ent is based on a co""unity% and re&resents its /interests%0 as the "o+e"ent7s acti+ists a&&rehend the". *i"ultaneously% the co""unity is being <re>for"ed and <re>sha&ed by the "o+e"ent. ?y argu"ent is that the Auic de+elo&"ent of a se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent at the end of the *o+iet &eriod !as &ossible only because such a de+elo&ed and co"&licated <underground> co""unity had e)isted before. (o!e+er% in order to "obili.e the co""unity7s &artici&ants% a /mo#ement identity0 should e"erge in the "o+e"ent. It is a /collecti+e identity based on shared "e"bershi& in a "o+e"ent0 <Polletta and Das&er 2441% &. 265>. I study ho! the "o+e"ent identity has e"erged in the grou&s that ha+e a&&eared as &ersonal &roBects of certain indi+iduals% and ho! this e"ergence !as sustained by the social situation of &ost-socialist transfor"ations. If there is a "o+e"ent% it "ust act &ublicly. :ne creates and sustains the identity by &roclai"ing it in &ublic s&here% i.e. gi+ing others a chance to discuss and critici.e it. The +ery act of &ublic de"onstration of an identity is crucially i"&ortant. :ne al!ays can &artici&ate in the co""unity 5 !ithout &ublic disclosing of <this &art of> his or her identity. (o!e+er% to act as a social acti+ist% !oring on behalf of se)ual "inorities7 co""unity% one ob+iously should /co"e out0. /Co"ing out0 is a funda"ental &rocess in !hich the "o+e"ent identity e"erges. This co"ing out "ay be &artial <i.e. i"&ly nicna"es% a+oiding "ass-"edia &resentations etc.>% but it nonetheless "ust ha&&en once in this or that !ay. It is &ossible to consider the e"ergence of se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent an effect of "ass co"ing out of "any &eo&le !ho &re+iously &artici&ated in the "o+e"ent or !ere intended to do it <but could not due to the lac of infor"ation or inordinate social control they suffered>. I o+er+ie! the "o+e"ent as it has e"erged and self-organi.ed in the &rocess of its leaders7 co"ing out <since 1565>. It !as t!e "eriod of t!e community$s transformation into t!e mo#ement. The ending of Perestoia and colla&se of the *o+iet society surely ser+ed as the "ain social conte)t in !hich all these e+ents ha+e ha&&ened. In 1565% the first &ublic /Association of *e)ual ?inorities0 established itself% and the first officially ad"itted <registered> s&eciali.ed ne!s&a&er a&&eared as !ell. The unconditional colla&se of the ,**1 and t!o cou&s <failed in 1551 and successful in 1552> follo!ed soon after. I argue that the first &eriod of the "o+e"ent7s de+elo&"ent has been finished% in general% by 1559. =uring this &eriod in the country7s social and &olitical life% unusually high le+el of &olitical &artici&ation and s&ontaneous e"ergence of "ass "o+e"ents !ere ty&ical <Einifter and ?icie!ic. 1552F Weigle and Butterfield 1552> 1 . At the sa"e ti"e% the deconstruction of &re-e)isting social-&olitical syste" along !ith decline of the state econo"ic syste" led to harsh "ass i"&o+erish"ent and disa&&oint"ent. The history of the "o+e"ent !as fra"ed by this transfor"ation. The &eriod of social acti+ity !as follo!ed by a &eriod of e"barrass"ent and total ano"ia <in =urhei"7s sense> that caused "ass retreats fro" any social acti+is". In the follo!ing% s&eaing about /&ost-*o+iet0 1ussia% I "ean this e)tre"ely s&ecific &eriod in the life of the society. The international L$BT co""unity should be considered another crucially i"&ortant conte)t. Partici&ants in the 1ussian "o+e"ent could understand the"sel+es as &artici&ants in a !ider co""unity. :bBecti+ely% the !hole "o+e"ent !as highly de&endent on donations and &ro"otion 1 It "aes no sense to "ention "any !ors about +arious as&ects of Perestroia social transfor"ation. It is easy to find and access a huge nu"ber of !ors about Perestroia. I only !anted to highlight the conte)tual i"&ortance of the &eriod@ it !as genuinely uniAue ti"e@ so "any unusual things !ere &ossible neither se+eral years before nor se+eral years after it. 14 fro" abroad. *urely it !ould not ha+e been &ossible to reali.e "any of their educati+e and &olitical acti+ities !ithout the international su&&ort. At the sa"e ti"e% the country% o&ened to the international e)change and tra+els after a long &eriod of self-closure% attracted a lot of interest fro" abroad. After the door !as o&ened% Euro&ean and A"erican acti+ists stri+ed to loo inside. The 1ussian co""unity and acti+ists% re&resenting it in front of the &ublic eye% had to define the"sel+es in the bigger international conte)t. I outline the role that the ne! infor"ation and financial &ossibilities% &ro+ided by the international co""unity% both ha+e &layed in the designing of the "o+e"ent. A social "o+e"ent usually &roclai"s its intention to achie+e certain social% &olitical and cultural obBecti+es. To do it% the "o+e"ent should for" its infrastructure% consisting of organi.ations !ith internal se&aration of res&onsibilities and <"ore or less> routinely &rofessionali.ed acti+ities. Besides% +arious grou&s !ith +ague inner structure and loose "e"bershi& "ay share the "o+e"ent identity and tae &art in it. Crucially i"&ortant is the relation bet!een the "o+e"ent and co""unity on the basis of !hich all the acti+ities are gro!n u&. This relation is one of i"&ortant obBects in gay and lesbian history studies. In his "ilestone studies in the history of A"erican $ay Liberation "o+e"ent% Dohn =7E"ilio es&ecially e"&hasi.es that the gay and lesbian "o+e"ent cannot be understood !ithout analysis of its relation !ith the co""unity it re&resents% although the co""unity often is not so +isible <1556>. Lesbian and gay "en co""unities% to !hich the abbre+iation 0L$BT0 does not al!ays fit% contributed into the gro! of collecti+e identity that later beco"e the indetitty of the &ublic "o+e"ent <Ir+ine 1559>. In "y research I try to discern this relation bet!een &ublicly &roclai"ed obBecti+es of the "o+e"ent7s acti+ities and &articular &ositions of the co""unity7s &artici&ants. The social acti+ity of se)ual "inorities is a subBect for concei+ing it as a social "o+e"ent% es&ecially in the /ne! social "o+e"ent0 &aradig" <Calhoun 1554>. They gi+e us a bright e)a"&le of so-called /&olitics of identity.0 It "ay be argued that se)ual "inorities organi.ed in a social "o+e"ent "ay &ro&ose as their clai"s "ore radical clai"s than %ust acno!ledge"ent of their life style <Blasius 1552>. These social "o+e"ents +ary in their radicalis" and &referable &osition in &oliticsF thus% the strategies they choose to "ae their &ublic i"age "ay be co"&ared according to 11 their attitude to the &olitical acti+ity <;lander"ans 1552>. At the sa"e ti"e% it "ay be argued that /se)ual "inorities0 do not co"&ose a genuine subBect to for" an effecti+e &olitical "o+e"ent% at least unless they ha+e strong su&&ort of a co""unity and stand for its "utual interests. /*e)uality0 is not a &ro&er ite" for entering into &olitical field <*herrill 1559F Woods 155#>. I thin that in the case of 1ussian "o+e"ent% these relations bet!een co""unities7 e)&ectations and the real results of the acti+ists7 deals hel& to understand sha&ing and transfor"ation of the "o+e"ent identity. The acti+ities of se)ual "inorities in 1ussia !ere studied by Laurie Essig. (er Queers in Russia. T!e Study of Se&, Self and ot!er <1555> &ro+ides a theoretical fra"e!or for conce&tuali.ing the uncertain set of non-nor"ati+e se)uality based acti+ities that beca"e &ossible after generl liberali.ation of the society. *he argues that the acti+ities de+elo&ed by the first generation of acti+ists since 1565 fade a!ay until "id-1554% !hile the s&ecific regi"e of &racticing the non-nor"ati+e se)ualities !ithout necessity to disclose your /orientation0 ca"e instead. *he offers the ter" /Aueer0 to signify this regi"e% and co"&ares it !ith i"ages of /&ost-identity0 se)ual &olitics that "ay be found in conte"&orary Aueer theory. ;e+in ?oss "entions that 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 situation% on the contrary% "ust be understood as &re-/identity &olitics0 <155#% 2441>. (e argues that their &ractices are based on social techniAues of closeting% &artial closeting and infor"al co""unication% de+elo&ed by the &o&ulation in the *o+iet &eriod !hen &eo&le !ere to hide their &olitical +ie!s in a !ay% that !as a "ode of /closeting0 <155#>. These techniAues ha+e not "iss their i"&ortance until today <8arto+a 2444>. Thus% the 1ussian co""unity gi+es an e)a"&le of a relati#ely early stage of mo#ement emergence% !hich !as already o+er in "any Western countries u& to 1564s. I agree !ith ?oss7s accentuation of the i"&ortance of national social culture and traditions of infor"al coo&eration. Essig7s !or is the "ain theoretical and factual conte"&orary source on anthro&ology of 1ussian non-nor"ati+e se)uality. :ther i"&ortant !ors are o+er+ie!s of Igor ;on <1554% 155#% 155'>. =ue to his uniAue e)&ertise and acti+e &ublic &osition% he used to act as an ad+ocate and consultant for the e"erging co""unity% thus his descri&tions of the se)ual "inorities7 &ublic acti+ity are +ery detailed and offer i"&ortant 12 facts. (o!e+er% the co""unity7s life before 1565% as !ell as +arious non-&olitical acti+ities of the grou&s and organi.ations out of the ca&itals is not e)&lained there in desirable details. ;onGs !ritings are not only e)tre"ely &o&ular in the co""unity% they also still ser+e as an authoritati+e source of correct infor"ation about <ho"o>se)uality all o+er the country. *earching for the history of ho"ose)uality on L$BT !eb-sites% one una+oidably co"es across scanned cha&ters of his boos. Thus% these cha&ters% concise as they are% "ust be considered a /nor"al0 history of non-nor"ati+e se)uality in the ,**1 and 1ussia. 8onetheless% this /history0 !as !ritten by Igor ;on as an organic &art of his boos about the se)uality in 1ussia% so he got into details only then it !as necessary to clarify the "ain ideas of his boos. =ue his o!n uniAue e)&erience as an e)&ert% he !as lucy to de&end on his o!n i"&ressions of his /&artici&ant &artici&ation0 in the "o+e"ent for"ation. An i"&ortant source for "y !or !as also *onya Eraneta7s collection of inter+ie! !ith gays% lesbians and transse)uals fro" *iberian cities that sho! the life of the co""unity in &ro+ince <2444>. It is see"ingly the first !or of this ind% &erfor"ed in a +ery e"&athic "anner% that gi+es chance to loo into the life of gay "en and !o"en in big cities in 1ussia in 15'4-1564s. Mladi"ir ;irsano+7s collection of biogra&hies hel&s to reconstruct se+eral less no!n acti+ities of the &eriod% hardly "entioned in /nor"al0 ;on7s history <gay business% /gay art%0 &ublisher7s enter&rises> <244#>. =a+id Tuller7s boo <1559> !ith his /included &artici&ant0 obser+ations of e+ents in ?osco! and LeningradC*t. Petersburg /Aueer life0 include a nu"ber of i"&ortant details useful for reconstruction both the life of co""unity in the &eriod before and right after decri"inali.ation of ho"ose)uality% and of the "o+e"ent7s acti+ities. It &erfectly "atches Essig7s boo% for the authors s&oe about the sa"e &eo&le at the sa"e &laces and at the sa"e ti"e% but the boo of Tuller gi+es a bright and re"arable &icture in the "anner of /tra+elers7 diary0% !hile Essig &ro+ides also an anthro&ological theoretical fra"e for the &icture. (o!e+er% there is no de+elo&ed anthro&ological conce&tuali.ation of the e"ergence of se)ual "inorities7 &ublic acti+ities in 1ussia yet. I &ro&ose to conce&tuali.e it fro" /social "o+e"ent0 theoretical &ers&ecti+e. In "y !or I concentrate on the analysis of historical facts and try to 12 construct a conce&t !hich !ould e)&lain the features of the "o+e"ent and dyna"ic of its inner de+elo&"ent. Meth!)!l!(, a$) %esea%&h )esi($ Although I !as not !riting an e)tensi+e history of the co""unity and ho! it ga+e birth to the "o+e"ent% I had to reconstruct the chronology of e+ents and describe de+elo&"ent of certain organi.ations chronologically. What I !anted to do !as to reconstruct intentions of the "o+e"ent7s actors. ?y theoretical &resu"&tion !as that acti+ists !ho reali.ed <in their o!n !ays> needs and interests of the co""unity% could not do anything else but "ae the "ost of situational o&tionsF thus% I tried to reconstruct their o!n inter&retation of their beha+ior in that ti"e and ho! they had a&&rehend their conditions. At the sa"e ti"e% the co""unity in general% as the o&erati+e conte)t of their acti+ities% !as to be described as a co"&licated syste". There !ere three le+els of the analysis@ 1> The /generali.ed0 history of the <underground> co""unity !hich as the basis of the "o+e"entF 2> transfor"ation of the sy"bolical syste" of re&resentation% that sho!s ho! the co""unity and "o+e"ent !as sha&ed and resha&ed o+er ti"eF 2> indi+idual intentions of the acti+ists as they "ay be reconstructed on the basis of &resent-day inter+ie!s and &ublications of that &eriod. Thus% I tried to "ae a chronologically organi.ed reconstruction of the "o+e"ent7s e"ergence and organi.ation follo!ing these three le+els si"ultaneously. As I could not reconstruct the !hole history% I chose se+eral as&ects that !ould effecti+ely de"onstrate the s&ecificity of this /1ussian0 case. Although the !or is not designed as a /case-study%0 it includes considerations of so"e cases. The "ain sources of /historical0 &art !or !ere &ublished historical descri&tions <Essig% ;irsano+% ;on% et al.>% and early lesbigay </tematic0> editions of that ti"e. The ongoing &rocess !as de&icted in there. Prof. Igor ;on indly &ro+ided "e !ith "e his &ersonal collection of these editions% so I had a uniAue o&&ortunity to !or !ith these uniAue "aterials. I also studied "aterials of ?osco! Archi+e of Lesbians and $ays 0ALG1+ a &ri+ate collection of &ri"ary and secondary sources about the history 14 of the co""unity. Besides using of the gay and lesbian &ress as a <narrati+e> historical source% I "ade content analysis studying their usage of different ter"s for the se)ual "inorities7 co""unity. The field!or consisted of inter+ie!s !ith the "o+e"ent7s &artici&ants of different ages. Because of the conditions of "y tra+el grant% recei+ed fro" CE, $ender *tudies =e&art"ent for this field!or% and ti"e li"itations% I concentrated on the inter+ie!s in the t!o "ain centers of the se)ual "inorities7 co""unity in 1ussia@ ?osco! and *t. Petersburg. I ho&e that results acAuired by field!or e+en on such constrained field "ay be a&&lied to the co""unity and history in the !hole country. In "y search for the res&ondents I !as interested &ri"arily in inter+ie!s !ith the acti+e &artici&ants% organi.ers of grou&s and organi.ations. In general% I "ade 12 in-de&th se"i-structured inter+ie!s. Conducting the inter+ie!s I tried to &ro+ide "y res&ondents an o&&ortunity to tell "e their stories as they could re-"e"ber and re-construct the" no!. Thus% the first &art of the inter+ie! consisted of their self-&resentation. The second &art of the inter+ie! !as grounded on a unifor" Auestionnaire that I had constructed after "y &reli"inary readings. It co+ered the follo!ing to&ics@ 1> &referable categories to na"e the co""unity and &ersons !ith no-nor"ati+e se)ualityF 2> i"&ortant chronological dates% 2 > the condition of the co""unity before the e"ergence of the first &ublic organisations about 1565 R if the res&ondent ne! at least anything about itF 4> &ersonal story of /co"ing out0 and entrance into the co""unity <this to&ic often !as the first one to discuss>% #> condition and characteristic features of the co""unity in early 1554s% its structure% relations bet!een the organisations and their leaders% 9> history of the &articular organisations and grou&s the &erson belonged to !ith accent on the intra-organi.ational dyna"ics and the results of their acti+ities% '> the ty&ical cultural features of the co""unity<s> R boos% songs etc.% relation to sy"bols and signs of /global L$BT co""unity0% 6> social conte)t of their acti+ities and their inter&retation of "ain &olitical and social trends in the society of that ti"eF 5> ideology of the "o+e"ent% !ho and ho! discussed it and ho! the interests and ai"s of the "o+e"ent <could be> defined% 14> relations !ith grant gi+ers and strategies of financial su&&ort% 11> <other> leaders% &ersonal relations !ith the"% and 1# <retros&ecti+e> esti"ation of their acti+ities. I also "ade se+eral short e)changes !ith other &artici&ants of the co""unity. Where !ere 2 &ersons to ser+e as e&"erts@ &rof. Igor7 ;on and 8ade.hda 8arto+a !ho !as an o&en lesbian and studied the co""unity as an anthro&ologist alie. All res&ondents beside t!o had higher degrees% and belonged to three generations of the co""unity. The a+erage length of the inter+ie!s !as 2% # -2 hours% e)ce&t for ;rau.e7s inter+ie! !hich !as longer. 8ot all inter+ie!s !ere &ossible to record <three inter+ie!ees ased "e not to do it>. I also "ade notes. All recorded inter+ie!s !ere transcribed by "yself. I also "ade follo!-u& Auestions by e-"ail. This !ay of co""unication needed "ore ti"e than I actually had and se+eral acti+ists I needed to contact !ere% &erha&s% too busy !ith &re&aration for the $ay Pride <it had to tae &lace in Dune%2'> to ee& in regular contact. As far as I !as not intended to co"&lete a genuine history of L$BT co""unity before and in the ti"e of Perestroia% but tried only to gras& its "ain features% "eaningful in the fra"e!or of "y research% I did not try to "eet and inter+ie! all re"arable &artici&ants of the e+ents. I s&oe neither !ith Eugenia =ebryansaya nor !ith% say% ="itry Lyche+. :f course% it !ould undoubtedly "ae sense to collect "ore inter+ie!s. (o!e+er% I thin that they !ould only add details to the story !hich "ain line I ho&e I gras& correctly. Po&ular in this ind of research% /sno!ball "ethod0 !as used for sa"&ling and search for inter+ie!ees. A &reli"inary co""unication by e-"ail !as +ery effecti+e. In ?osco!% I "ade se+eral inter+ie!s !ith lesbian !o"en fro" the circle of AL$. The acti+ists I s&oe !ith% being /&ublic figures0 agreed !ith "entioning of their na"es <t!o of the had regular nicna"es and !ere "entioned here by these nicna"es>F in se+eral cases the res&ondents did not !ant to be "entioned by their full na"es% so I used only first na"es in "y te)t. The list of the inter+ie!ees is in the A&&endi). 19 #ha-te% 23 H!m!se4'alit, i$ the S!viet U$i!$ e"!%e its )e-&%imi$ali5ati!$ /, nas sesa netO0 <We ha+e no se)O> A notorious "ost'so#iet %o(e S!me %ema%ks a!'t 6se4'alit,7 i$ the S!viet U$i!$ *ociocultural status of ho"ose)ual &ractices and intentions a"ong its citi.ens is affected by the !hole syste"s of ideas held in the society about se)uality and its /&ro&er0 and /i"&ro&er0 for"s. Therefore% it is necessary to sur+ey the status of se)uality in the society in the &eriod before the legali.ation of ho"ose)uality in order to understand the broader socio-cultural conte)t% !here ho"ose)uals had to reali.e their identity and in+ented organi.ing the"sel+es. In this section% I outline the "ain features of the regi"e of se)uality established in the *o+iet society. It is i"&ortant to study the" before looing at the s&ecificity of the /1ussian0 case of introduction of non-nor"ati+e se)uality in the &ublic life of the society. In ter"s of se)uality regi"e in the *o+iet ,nion% one should "ention three features% i"&ortant for dra!ing the bacground of this research@ 1> The state o&enly tried to &ut the !hole run of &ri+ate life of its citi.ens under control% and succeeded in doing it to a high degree. =efinitely% se)uality !as under sus&ect as an i"&ortant as&ect if indi+idual7s life% that !as hard for officials to control <(ealey 2441% ;on 155#F Hdra+o"yslo+a 2441>. :f course% any &ublic e)&ressions nd e+en "entions of it !ere &rohibited <;on sarcastically &ro+ides surrealistic e)a"&les of this social control>% and e+en inti"ate "atters !ere &roclai"ed to be a legiti"ate site of &arty care for the citi.ens. 2 Igor ;on conce&tuali.ed this relation to se)uality as an 2 In 1ussian discussion of this to&ic% song /1ed Triangle0 by the se"i-underground singer of that ti"e% Ale)ander $alich% is being often "entioned. The song told ho! a !o"an !rote a re&ort about her husband7s infidelity to their factory7s Trade-,nion and Party co""ittee. The husband7s beha+ior !as &ublicly discussed in the Co""unist7s "eeting <he had to 1' atte"&t to build u& /se&less ci#ili)ation0 !here not only e)&ressions of se)uality as a &art of hu"an e+eryday life% but also any hints to it !ere e)cluded fro" &ublic <;on 155'>. 8o /no!ledge0 about ho"ose)uality !as tolerable under that condition. The cri"inali.ation of ho"ose)uality% co"bined !ith its "edicali.ation% functioned effecti+ely as a truly effecti+e tool to erase it fro" the citi.ens7 "inds <$essen 1554>. This regi"e of total /closeting0 of ho"ose)uality "ay be co"&ared to Western societies before the /se)ual re+olution0F ho!e+er% 1ussian society ne+er had such strict &rohibition of ho"ose)uality before the "iddle of 24 Century neither by la! nor in &ublic o&inion <(ealey 2441% ;on% 1556>. The ,**1 allegedly had the biggest &rison &o&ulation in the !orld% and huge nu"ber of "en !ere actually in+ol+ed in ho"ose)ual acts !hile their i"&rison"ent <;on 155'F ;o.lo+sy 1569> I"&risoned ho"ose)uals !ere stig"ati.ed and hu"iliated% forced to sur+i+e in inhu"an conditions. 2> Any infor"ation and no!ledge about se)uality !as e)cluded fro" "edia and literature. :r% should I rather say% the state did e+erything it could /to de-se)ualise0 art and "eida. <ConseAuently% terrifying "yths had a fertile ground to gro!. ?any stories of gay and lesbian self-understanding of that &eriod include e&isodes of &urifying their self-identity fro" these "yths>. Although the authorities ne+er could sto& circulation of no!ledge about these "atters and <illegal> distribution of se)uality-related "aterials al!ays continued% &eo&le often had no rational, science'based no!ledge about se)uality. This circu"stance e+en had been considered a social &roble" by s&ecialists in sociology of fa"ily% because it influenced relations in fa"ilies and bet!een adults and children <$olod 1559>. In the 15'4s% in the &eriod of late socialis" </*re)!ne#ism+>% a slight "o+e"ent to discuss such "atters could be detected but it !as not sufficient enough to transfor" the regi"e of /se)less ci+ili.ation0. 2> 8e+ertheless% the country7s &o&ulation could not a+oid se)ual life. It !as sho!n that the history of se)uality in the *o+iet ,nion ca"e through basically the sa"e &eriods as /Westerner7s0 se)uality did <;on 2442% 1otirch 2442>. Anna 1otirch% for e)a"&le% discerned three generations in the *o+iet detali.e the case ans!ering Auestions>% after !hich he !as &ublicly re&ri"anded and instructed to /beha+e hi"self.0 16 &o&ulation% gradually "o+ing fro" condition of /constrained and o&&ressed se)uality0 to "ore free and /e)&erienced0 se)ualityF this generational transfor"ation "ay be co"&ared !ith si"ultaneous transfor"ations of attitude to se)uality in other Euro&ean societies% as she had sho!n by her co"&arison !ith Einnish society <2444>. ;on <2442> suggested that 1ussian society under!ent the sa"e dee& transfor"ation of relation to se)uality% that beca"e conce&tuali.ed in the West as the /se)ual re+olution0% but under the conditions of s&ecific discursi+e regi"e of *o+iet society% this re+olution beca"e a ind of /stalled0 one <to borro! an a&t e)&ression of Arlie (ochschild <1565>>. To the end of the *o+iet &eriod the citi.ens of the country already !ere not /dese)uali.ed%0 and the state already could not control their inti"ate life as effecti+ely as it had tried to do it decades before. But the /regi"e of solitude0 !as still enforced. =istribution of se)uality-related "aterials !as still illegalF but u& to that ti"e% a !ell-"aintained and co"&licated syste" of &roduction and distribution of +arious self-"ade &rinted issues <sami)dat> !as established in the country% and it !ould not be !rong to say that se)uality-related "aterials !ere &roduced and distributed the sa"e !ay <Tuller 1556% &. 64>. Besides illegal &ornogra&hy% these issues had to include +arious self-"ade translations of foreign se)ual "anuals and erotic literature. /*a"i.dat0 acti+ists had connections !ith Western &ublishers and Bournalists. The sa"e "ust be said about ho"ose)uality-related issues. Eor e)a"&le% !hile the Leningrad gay &oet and !riter $ennady Trifono+ !as i"&risoned in 15'9% his +erses !ere &ublished abroad but ne+er in the ,**1 <$ay% sla+ianeO 1552% &&. 21-2'>. We can su""ari.e that until the 1564s there !as a &al&able contradiction bet!een the real state of affairs !ith a se)ual life that lead to strong social de"and for no!ledge about se)uality% and its /officially a&&ro+ed0 non-e)istence. The lac of such no!ledge !as recogni.ed as a feature of the general regime of (noledge established in the country. This regi"e !as Bu)ta&osed !ith &resu"ed /Western0 o&enness and freedo". $orbache+7s Perestroia% had% as one of its "ain "ottos% a stri+e for GlasnostS. Besides other "eanings <1e"ington 1565>% this "otto i"&lied freedo" of s&eech and freedo" of the &ress@ for /erotic "aterials0% of course% too. ?asha $essen sho!ed ho! this freedo" had been Auicly utili.ed by <"ainly young> &ublishers and Bournalists in the country <155#>. The 15 e)tre"ely fast de+elo&"ent of /se)ing "edia0% as she called it% !as caused by the long &eriod of its absence in the state-controlled "edia. This &rocess of /se)ing "edia0 ga+e a significant ad+antage to e"erging gay and lesbian &ress. It !as the state cri"inali.ation of ho"ose)uality that "ade its history in the *o+iet ,nion so &ainful and% at the sa"e ti"e uniAue a"ong other national cases. The cri"inali.ation follo!ed a &eriod of e"anci&ation and si"&lification of fa"ily relations in the ,**1 in 1524s. The cri"inali.ation of ho"ose)ual relations !as a &o!erful tool in the general trend of &utting all the &ri+ate life of *o+iet citi.ens under the state control <Edge 155#F $essen 1554<rus>% &.9F (ealey 2441>. The la!% officially &ublished as /t!e ,a of - Marc! ./010% &layed a crucial role in the history of ho"ose)uality in 1ussia. 8ote% that the la! !as a&&ro+ed by *talin in the sa"e day !hen 8a.i too &o!er in $er"any< so"e authors doubt it !as a "ere coincidence 2 >. An act of ho"ose)ual intercourse led to four or fi+e years of i"&rison"ent. This la! effecti+ely introduced the idea of ho"ose)uality as a cri"e into "ass consciousness. (o"ose)uals ne! that their acti+ity !as unla!ful% and this no!ledge often &re+ented the" fro" engaging any acti+ity to see &rotection of their rights as citi.ens and hu"ans. 8aturally enough% the decri"inali.ation of ho"ose)uality beca"e the first and "ain de"and of the self-constituting gay and lesbian "o+e"ent in the late Perestroia &eriod. It is not no!n u& till no!% ho! "any &eo&le !ere factually sentenced by this la!. These data !ould hel& to esti"ate distribution and features of ho"ose)ual &ractices in the ,**1% but there are se+eral obstacles in such an in+estigation. Eirstly% ho"ose)ual "en often !ere not i"&risoned but blac"ailed and thereby forced to coo&eration by ;$B. 2omitet <the co""ittee3 syste"atically collected infor"ation about ho"ose)uals. ?any ho"ose)ual "en could stay free only if they agreed to !or for !ith the ;$B. They !ere forced to !or as secret infor"ers% &ro+ocateurs etc. <$essen 1554% &. 16-24F ;o.lo+sy 1569% &.1##-1#9F *cherbao+ 1552>. Thus% although they truly suffered fro" the state% they !ere not taen into account in any statistics. *econdly% this /obscene article0 !as 2 *o"e Bournalists !rote it !as ?a)i" $ory !ho once had ad+iced *talin to "ae se)ual relations a"ong "en illegal. They e)&lain it an indirect hint against 8a.is !ho" $ory considered /ho"ose)uals0. 24 so"eti"es used against &olitical dissidents to !orsen their /guilt0 and "ae their situation in the &rison "uch "ore se+ere. Thirdly% as &rof. Ale)ei Ignato+ es&ecially used to &oint out% there !ere "any "ore cri"es because of this article than under this article <blac"ailing% slander% e)tortion>. :ne s&ecialist in 1ussian cri"inality !rote that the a+erage nu"ber of "en sentenced according to the article !as about 4.1T of all the &risoners that !ould "ean about a thousand e+ery year. <cited in@ $essen 1554<eng> &. 14>. After eli"ination of the la! at 25 A&ril 1552% about t!o hundred of &eo&le accused of /sodo"y0 !ere in Bail% a"ong the" '2 !ho !ere there e)clusi+ely because of this cri"e <$essen 1554<rus> &. 22>. :ne of *onya Eraneta7s res&ondents described her a "ilitia7s /o&eration0 against ho"ose)uals that too &lace in *iberian cities as late as in 1569 !hen "ore than 124 "en !ere i"&risoned. <Eraneta 2444% &. 95>. According to =an (ealey <2441>% not less that 29 thousands had been accused of ho"ose)uality and i"&risoned since 1524 till 1552. (o!e+er% he ad"its that the accounting is only a&&ro)i"ate. The real nu"ber "ust be higher% es&ecially taing into consideration the 1524s. E+en !ithout counting the &recise nu"ber arrested under it% one can easily see that this la! ob+iously !as a big danger for *o+iet ho"ose)uals. It "ade any &ublic "o+e"ent of ho"ose)uals absolutely i"&ossible until the +ery colla&se of the *o+iet syste" <but e+en the first &ublic% /o&en0 gay acti+ists began their acti+ity under &seudony"s% because they had to care for this danger to be &rosecuted <inter+ie! !ith :rtano+>>. The la! &ined the ideological connection bet!een /ho"ose)uality0 and /cri"e0 in the "ass consciousness. At the sa"e ti"e% this co""on danger unified &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality and &roduced the feeling of affinity and solidarity bet!een &eo&le !ith ho"oerotic intentions. It !as an i"&ortant factor for de+elo&"ent of the co""unity. Coo"unity "e"bers of older generation s&oe and !rite about i"&ortance of infor"al hel& to each other. /4ur0 &eo&le <nas!i lyudi>% as they referred to the"sel+es <loo the cha&ter 2> !ere to hel& /our0 &eo&le. A certain e)&erience in a+oiding the &rosecution certainly !as attenti+ely analy.ed and accu"ulated% at least by /influential0 &ersons in the co""unity. Eor e)a"&le% Ale)ander ;uharsy describes different !ays of beha+ior at "ilitia 21 and interrogation. (e es&ecially studied the &rocedure and la!s to be able to consult "en !ho needed that ind of hel&. (e reco""ended different strategies for different &eo&le in the early 1564s% and studied the Penal Code es&ecially for this ai". This infor"al net!or of /our &eo&le0 !as sustained by the &er"anent threat of &rosecution. These connections did not disa&&ear after the eli"ination of the la!@ "y res&ondents "entioned relations !ith the /our &eo&le0 in &resent ti"es as set of &eo&le they can call on in case of urgency. In the late Perestroia era% the first official organi.ations of ho"ose)uals !ere organi.ed by s"all grou&s of &eo&le !ho intensi+ely used these infor"al net!or channels to find allies. Thus% the e)&erience of dealing !ith the la! and the security ser+ice !as accu"ulated in the co""unity under &ressure of this constant danger. This e)&erience ob+iously !as used in the de+elo&"ent of grou& and indi+idual tactics of being a ho"ose)ual in an intolerant en+iron"ent that !as Bust one &articular e)a"&le of /double life0 techniAues. According to ;e+in ?oss <2442>% in such a highly &olitici.ed society as *o+iet society% the citi.ens !ere trained to ha+e a double life% !hat should be defined as the /underground closet.0 The sa"e indi+idual social techniAues !ere a&&lied to hide unorthodo) &olitical +ie!s and non-nor"ati+e se)uality alie. Perha&s% it !ould e+en "ae sense to s&ea about /closeting0 as a uni+ersal social and co""unicati+e techniAue% +itally i"&ortant for +ast "aBority of adult &o&ulation of this ty&e of society. To su""ari.e this% I suggest that the !ell-no!n &rohibition of "ale ho"ose)uality% acco"&anied by consistent "edicali.ation of fe"ale ho"ose)uality as a dangerous &athology% &layed an a"biguous role in its history in 1ussia. It destroyed li+es of thousands of &eo&le% yet forced the" to understand their unity "ean!hile. 1ussian se)ual "inorities% being an o&&ressed social grou&% established a subculture% !hich effecti+ely !ould /ca"e out0 in Perestroia ti"e. Thus% the state o&&ression !as a factor of creation of the subculture. As "any conte"&orary society% 1ussian is definitely ho"o&hobic one. ?oreo+er% e+idence if a slight de+elo&"ent of this attitude is a+ailable 4 <Baraban 2442>. Although since /co"ing out0 of ho"ose)uality 4 (elena :"el7cheno <2442> &ro+ides an e)cellent e)&lanation of anthro&ological fra"e!or for studies of ongoing ho"o&hobia in 1ussian youngster7s co""unities. 22 t!enty years ago% sociological sur+eys ha+e used to dis&lay gradual gro!th of tolerance to the se)ual "inorities% the society is still ho"o&hobic% and the "ass su&&ort for &rohibition of $ay Pride in ?osco! <Haya+lenie 244'> is a sign of this state of things. Brian Baer discerns s&ecific for" of ho"o&hobia% that he considers an unusual feature of 1ussian fol conce&tion of ho"ose)uality@ 1ussians a&&ear to recogni.e t!o sources of ho"ose)uality@ biology and culture. And so% it is not unco""on then to see &leas for tolerance <of natural ho"ose)uality> side-by-side !ith i"&assionated against ho"ose)uality &ercei+ed as unnatural trend% foreign borro!ing% cultural aberration. U"any 1ussian !riters% co""entators% and e+en doctors today ty&ically recogni.e biological and cultural sources of ho"ose)uality. It7s a sur&risingly &o&ular duality <Baer 2446% &. #>. This obser+ation is not so tri+ial% as far as the idea of necessity to find an effecti+e criteria to se&arate GtrueG ho"ose)uals fro" Gs&oiledG <!ho !ould stay heterose)ual% if the &ro&aganda orVand ceduction !onGt "islead the"> &er"eates e+eryday discussion o+er this to&ic < here I can refer to "y o!n /cultural e)&erience0> # . I thin it hel&s to reali.e !hy the idea of &ublic celebrating of non-nor"ati+e se)uality <!hat is% of /gay R&rides0> hardly finds !ide su&&ort in the society. 1ussians /are not ho"ose)uals%0 they dislie /the culture of ho"ose)uality0 because it "ay distort the se)ual desire of /nor"al0 &ersons. I !ill not go further into discussion if this &osition% &artly because it is ob+ious% &artly because I "ust &roceed to "y "ain to&ics. H!m!se4'al &!mm'$it, i$ the USSR i$ late S!viet U$i!$ Long before its /e"ergence in the &ublic discourse0 in 1565% ho"ose)ual "en and !o"en surely did e)ist in the *o+iet ,nion. (o"ose)uality and ho"oeroticis" certainly has a long history in 1ussian society <as% for e)a"&le% &rof. *i"on ;arlinsy has in+estigated it in nu"erous &ublications>. There !ere e+en "ore or less successful atte"&ts to theori.e the &heno"enon <1o.ano+ 1511>. E+en under the threat of &rosecution% ho"ose)uals "anaged so"eho! to get no! &eo&le /of their ind0 # Although the author traces the idea bac to Massily 1o.ano+7s &ioneering research of &sychology and esthetics of ho"ose)uality <1511>% I cannot agree !ith this reconstruction. This !or of 1o.ano+% !hich !as a &art of his studies in the &sychology of religion% ne+er !ould beco"e his "ost read and &o&ular boo% thus its influence could not be so strong. The genealogy of this idea ass for "ore dee& in+estigation. 22 and created a +ogue net of social contacts. Life of the net !as% of course% closed fro" the eyes of the authority. The nation-!ide /co""unity0 I s&ea about consisted of "any s"all grou&s as !ell as indi+iduals% often ha+ing no infor"ation about each other or connected only by &ersonal acAuaintance bet!een /old0 &artici&ants of the grou&s. ?any s"all co""unities !ere established by socially acti+e &ersons% thus those !ho Boint he" !ere &eo&le fro" their e+eryday en+iron"ent 9 . The +ery usage of the !ord /co""unity0 in relation to *o+iet ho"ose)uals !ould not be adeAuate enough because it i"&lies a certain a"ount of solidarity bet!een "e"bers of a co""unityF nonetheless% as I said abo+e% I ha+e no better !ord. Ero" the researcher7s &oint of +ie!% it is i"&ortant to distinguish bet!een the co""unity and the outer en+iron"ent in a "ore or less consistent !ay. Therefore% it is "ore correct to thin about ho"ose)uals in the *o+iet ,nion as an indefinite netor( of "eo"le, unified only by their hidden se)ual &references <one could not allo! herself or hi"self to be no!n as a ho"ose)ual to his en+iron"ent% e+en being !ell-no!n to local ho"ose)uals>. A definition of the Gco""unityG% used by Chris Woods in his analysis of Britain gay life% "ay find its aa&lication here@ /Wthe co""unity is a set ofX series of co""unal identities based on +arious ele"ents <such as gender% se) &reference% geogra&hic location% "usical taste or class> !hich coincide in +arying degrees under the nebulous label of Gho"ose)ualityG0 <Woods 155#>. These &eo&le should not necessarily thin about the"sel+es that they &ersonally belong to /a co""unity%0 but they feel affinities !ith &eo&le of a certain indF they all are also i""ediately interested in the s&ecial infrastructure for &articular &ractices. In the follo!ing% I "ae a setched outline of infrastructure of this hidden co""unity as it see"ingly !as sha&ed to the end of 1564s. The biggest cities of the country and its regional centers already had infor"al gay and lesbian infrastructure R a set of s&ecial "eeting and cruising &laces <usually called /"les!(as0% YZ[\]^ R the !ord is no!n to all "e"bers of the co""unity% although its ety"ology is unclear <;o.lo+sy 1569>>. Certain urban sites% lie cafJs and &ublic toilets !ere also 9 Eor e)a"&le% :lga ;rau.e told about se+eral lesbian grou&s that consisted of !o"en !ho !ere e"&loyed and resided together. These !o"en "et together regularly% and they still do it no! !ithout any need to coo&erate !ith other grou&s. 24 a&&ro&riated by the co""unity as "eeting &laces. A hidden syste" of infor"al co""unication e"erged as !ell. The sy"bolical centers of the local urban co""unities7 infrastructures !ere cruising sites R "les!(as. E+en the oldest "e"bers of the co""unity did not no! for sure ho! the "les!(as a&&eared. These &laces are e)cessi+ely described in the gay follore that dates bac to 15'4ties. In ?osco! The "ain cruising &laces !ere a big sAuare in front of the Bolshoi Theatre ' <according to legends% this _Aueered_ &lace !as no!n as cruising site already in the beginning of the 24th Century <Lyche+ 1552>>% and "e"orial sAuare near ;itai-gorod "etro station. In Leningrad ho"ose)uals "et in the fa"ous /Catherine7s garden0 in 8e+sy &ros&ect . . In 8o+osibirs% cruising &laces !ere Per+o"aBsy &ar <along !ith cafJ /*&utni0> <Eraneta 2444% &. 124>. In ?osco!% ho"ose)uals "et in fa"ous cafJs Artistic!es(oe and Sad(o. ="itry Lyche+ !rote that there !ere gays in the staff of the cafJ% !ho used to in+ite their friends% and gradually the !hole cafJ !as a&&ro&riated by gays. Laurie Essig calls Sad(o /the only &ublic shelter in !hich Aueers could gatherU so"eho! the &lace !as /no!n%0 not only a"ong those !ho gathered there but a"ong "any in ?osco!7s nonAueer &o&ulation as !ell0 <Essig 1555% &. 64>. $oing to a ne! to!n% a ho"ose)ual could easily acAuire infor"ation about /&leshas0 and got there &ossibility to find co"&any% lodging and se)ual distractions. In big cities there could be se+eral cruising &laces and &ersons !ho regularly sho!ed the"sel+es u& at one &lace could ha+e only uncertain no!ledge about other &laces. Eor e)a"&le% ;rau.e "entions /tra" &ar /;onyashino%0 R a "unici&al trans&ortation enter&rise% !here !ere "any lesbians as !ell a fe"ale transse)uals e"&loyed. *o"e of the" surely !ere influenced in their se)ual beha+ior scenarios by &rison e)&erience. They had a traditionally "asculine Bob therefore certain "asculini.ation !as /allo!ed0 to the". This co""unity of !oring class !o"en did not ha+e connections !ith grou&s of !o"en interested in ho"oerotics but belonged to u&&er classes. ' :n the co+er of her /`ueers in 1ussia0 <1555>% Laurie Essig is de&icted as a "an in drag standing on this &laceF ?oss ironically "entions this gesture of de"onstrating true national !ay to beha+e in a Aueer !ay <?oss% 2441>. 2# There !as a struggle for sy"bolic leadershi& in the co""unity. Mladi"ir ;o.lo+sy7s infor"ants &ro+ided hi" !ith detailed descri&tions of inter&ersonal relations at "les!(a% e"&hasi.ing inter- generational e)change and contradictions. It is !orth "entioning that Mladi"ir ;o.lo+sy7s dictionary includes the critical re"ar of an anony"ous ho"ose)ual% !ho se+erely critici.ed the dictionary% because it !as filled !ith !ords &roduced by a considerably s"all co"&any of aesthetes !ho tried to &resent the"sel+es as an intellectual centre of the /&lesha co""unity0 <;o.lo+sy% 1569% &. '#>. The leaders !ere necessary to gather the /our &eo&le0 togetherF in fact their figures !ere a necessary ele"ent of fi)ing the subculture style and s&irit. In Barnaul gay cafJ% as a local co""unity7s &artici&ant describes it% /Uthis society has its stars% and the rest hung around the". It ha&&ened often that is so"e of the /soul of the society0 did not co"e the circle Bust left the &lace saying 0I see nobody ca"e today0% although there !as a considerable nu"ber of &eo&le0 <La.are+% 1552>. To su""ari.e% the &leshas along !ith nude beaches% aafJs and <of course> certain &ublic toilets !ere the &ri"ary city infrastructure of ho"ose)ual co""unity in that &eriod% locali.ed in the urban and suburban s&aceF not al!ays recogni.able for an outsider% the infrastructure e)isted as a set of sites for &articular &ractices <co"&arably to the si"ilar infrastructure in 8e! Por% as =eirdre Conlon described <2444>>. This infrastructure "ade for the &ractices hel&s the co""unity sur+i+e% sustains it. These &ractices are re&roduced in certain sites and these sites recei+e additional cultural and social "eaning thereby <Bro!n 2444% Conlon 2444>. ?ore so&histicated sociali.ing !as &ossible in co"&anies !ere hosted by &eo&le ha+ing se&arate a&art"ent <not e+ery citi.en could enBoy it in that ti"e>F these co"&anies !ere "ore or less e)clusi+e. :ther &arts of the infrastructure !ere net!ors of infor"ation e)change +ia /their0 &eo&le% distribution of literature and +isual "aterials <there !ere collections of erotic "aterials gathered by leaders% for e)a"&le% Alesandr ;uharsy had such collection% at least &artially consisting fro" &ictures "ade by hi"self>. Collections of +arious articles% &ictures% and other resources about ho"ose)uality and related to&ics <true libraries% in fact> !ere collected by enthusiasts <on the basis of such &ri+ate collection% AL$ !as later established>. After 1554% the first s&eciali.ed editions used these collections for co"&leting their content <inter+ie! !ith 29 :rtano+> 6 . As soon as it beca"e &ossible% Western organi.ations used to send their editions for these collections% +ery often R for free. Besides% se"i-underground ho"oerotic art e)isted. Eugene ;haritono+ 5 <1541-1561> and $ennady Trifono+ !ere considered the "ost &ro"inent gay &oets% but they !ere the "ost distinguished but certainly not the only !riters and &oets% celebrating ho"oerotics. *i"ultaneously ho"ose)ual the"es a&&eared in !ors of !riters !ho did not belong to the co""unity <Mishne+sy 1556>. ?usician and &oet :lga ;rau.e !ould re"e"ber trans+estite ho"e-staged sho!s in ?osco!. *tories and &oe"s% &ublished in gay and lesbian "edia soon after their e"ergence% so"eti"es are dated bac to the 15'4s. The audience !as not o&en e)clusi+ely for /se)ual "inorities0% and she considered it as a big ad+antage of that actions. =e+elo&ed as it !as% the infrastructure could not effecti+ely e)clude /our &eo&le0 fro" hostile en+iron"ent. All these acti+ities !ere "ore or less illegal or &aralegal. (o!e+er% its e)istence signifies that there !as a ind of ho"ose)ual subculture% and e+en if these grou&s did not constitute a bigger co""unity% that could not sur+i+e !ithout solidarity and infor"ation circulation. Therefore% the later acti+ities of the first L$BT organi.ations !ere grounded on these &re+iously e)isting net!ors and s"aller co""unities and the agendas of these acti+ists !ere articulated before their official e"ergence. The acti+ists tried to &olitici.e the co""unity and to create a "ore consistent &olitical body 14 . Ples!(as !ere s&ecial sites !here one could "eet a "ate <fulfilling infor"ational and sociali.ing function>% &artici&ate in collecti+e cultural &ractices <fulfilling sociali.ing function>% and !ere% factually% tiny se&arated s&aces inside of urban en+iron"ent !here socially unacce&ted <and e+en &rohibited in general> &ractices !ere tolerated by the en+iron"ent. *y"bolically% "les!(as could not 6 As Mladisla+ :rtano+ e)&lained to "e% al"ost e+ery for"ali.ed <institutionally> grou& of later &eriod had a collection of luterature on ho"ose)uality along !ith AI=*-related "aterials. 5 ;haritono+ E. Under 5ouse Arrest C transl. by Arch Tait. L@ *er&ent7s Tail% 1556. 14 These atte"&ts failed% as I !ould sho! belo!. :ne should consider the on-going e+ents around gay-&rides in ?osco! and *t. Petersburg% organi.ed by a ne! generation of gay &olitical entre&reneurs <Yb[cYb^d^efg[Z[h> <as 8. 8arto+a defines the" in sociological ter"s>% the second !a+e of &olitici.ation of ho"ose)uality in 1ussia. (o!e+er% this self- establish"ent of gay and lesbian identity &olitics no!adays% fifteen years after the first !a+e% taes &lace in sufficiently different en+iron"ent% !ith o&en state su&&ort of ho"o&hobia. 2' hel& but ghettoi.ed ho"ose)uals. 8o!adays% "les!(as ha+e lost their i"&ortance significantly after the legali.ation of ho"ose)ual acti+ities and de+elo&"ent of Internet% although they still e)ist. The "aBority ha+e shifted to s&eciali.ed clubs and discos. Cruising &laces - o&en-air &laces in the central &arts of to!n and cities continue their e)istence but they do not ha+e the "eaning of uniAue loci for s&ecial /Aueer0 acti+ities. Pounger re&resentati+es of the subculture% s&eaing about conte"&orary gay and lesbian co""unity% !ould refer to clubs and /discos0. I thin no!adays the co""unity does not need to ha+e such a central and stable &lace for "eeting and sociali.ing because a 1ussian city7s do!nto!n &ublic &laces together !ith s&ecial !eb-sites &erfectly fulfill these functions. According to =ic (ebdige <15'5>% subcultures are &roduced by subordinate grou&s. They challenge the o+erarching do"inance by &roducing their o!n grou& culture. They "ae their o!n set of sy"bols and re"arable &atterns of beha+ior R the /style0 of the subculture <for sa"&les.% - $olubaya ;niga 2444>. Looing fro" this side% one can consider the set of ho"ose)uals7 co""unities in late-socialist 1ussia a subculture% at least as far as it had the recogni.able culture style. :ne of s&ecific features of the style !as surely its s&ecial language. Besides slang% a s&ecific subcultural s&eech &ractice de+elo&ed in it as late as "id-15'4s. A s&ecific "anner of s&eaing and co""unicating has e"erged a"ong "e"bers of the ho"ose)ual co""unity% called /(!abal$st#o0 <ijfkfZlagmnoF the +erb R jfkfZ^gl% /(!abalit$0>. As far as I could figure it out% /habal7st+o0 !ould i"&ly an o+ert e)&ression of se)ual arousal% and interest% Boes about /&er+ersion0% and a co"&licated &lay !ith gendered e)&ressions in language. /;habal7st+o0 as a ind of s&eech &ractice !as used in s&ecial &laces% a"ong 0the"atic &eo&le0 N at 0&leshas%0 s&ecial &arties% at social gatherings. Its function !as to create the s&ecial closed s&ace that sustains the regi"e of se)ual relations used in the co""unities. I !ould consider /habal7st+o0 an i"&ortant &art of subculture syste" of cultural &atterns@ the ca&acity to s&ea and co""unicate in this "anner functionally reinforced the inCout di+ide and sustained grou& solidarity. *e+eral of "y res&ondents used the ter" /habal7st+o0 as a synony" for a +ulgar and un&leasant "anner of ho"ose)ual beha+ior% so"ething they distantiate the"sel+es fro". Closer to the &oint% 26 /habal7st+o0 is often related to femini)ed ho"ose)uals &erfor"ing a fe"ale "anneris" and "entioning the"sel+es in fe"inine gender. Persons &erfor"ing this style are a rather recogni.able &art of the ho"ose)ual co""unity but "any gays and lesbians try to ha+e nothing to do !ith the". Pet they share acAuaintance !ith this ty&e of s&eech &ractice and thus a &erosn !ho &ractices habal7st+o is defenitely recogni.able as so"eone belonging to the co""unity. /;habal7st+o0 "ay be co"&ared !ith another ho"ose)ual subculture slang languages% such as Britain /"olari0 <Baer 2442% =enning 2442>% although I failed to find any co"&arati+e research. The "ain ob+ious difference is that /&olari0 has its o!n +ocabulary% !hereas /habal7st+o0 has al"ost no s&ecial !ords 11 . ?any !ords are used !ith transfor"ed "eaning% but there see"s to be no roo" for a /habal7st+o0 dictionaryF thus it is not slang% but rather a sociolect. Its usage has been and still is a &erfor"ati+e% used in s&ecial situations and conte)ts% and the fact of the e)istence of the "anner I &ro&ose to consider a feature of a de+elo&ed and co"&licated < as far as /habal7st+o0 is attributed to a subgrou& inside of the bigger subculture> social grou&. This s&eech &ractice !as used &ri"arily not to hide relations and intentions by re-na"ing the" <that !ould be a &ro&er funcction of a slang>% but to refra"e attitude to gender and se)uality by their ironical alienation. *i"ultaneously% /&ure slang0 +ocabulary of /habal7st+o0 does e)ists% too <in addition to ;o.lo+sy 1569% I should "ention recently &resented co"&ilation by *aburoff <2446>F short as it is% the collection is see"ingly an introduction of continuing &roBect% but it is ob+ious a collection of slang% !here (!abal$st#o is not e+en "entioned>. An interesting fact "ay be "entioned to argue for the le+el of self-organi.ation of the co""unity. In this &eriod lesbians "anaged to ha+e secret "arriages. T!o girls !ho decided to li+e as a cou&le R/fa"ily0 Rcould not go to the state registry house <pqrs>% but they used another ritual instead of it@ secret "arriage in a church <I !as told about such cases in ?osco!>. They could by&ass the social nor" by e"&loy"ent of an alternati+e social nor". 1eligious _!edding_ !ould be e"&loyed as a sy"bolic alternati+e to the /secular0 "arriage. In Mladi"ir ;o.lo+sy7s boo% /lesbian "arriages0 are "entioned in the inter+ie! as a ty&ical and not an e)ce&tional e+ent !ith a s&ecial recogni.able 11 There is a s&ecial Internet-resource gathering e)a"&les of /(!abal$st#o0 and related "aterials@ htt&@CC)abala.gay.ru 25 ritual <1569% a&&. MI>. Essig "entioned these "arriages once as !ell <1555% &.41>. A"ong "y res&ondents% only Dulia Certlich could re"e"ber such a Gsecred "arriageG. There !ere other signs used by lesbians and gays to recogni.e each other. :lga ;rau.e had an earring in her ear in 1561 because% said she% /IGd heard that lesbians !ore one earring0F si"ilarly% one of Essig7s res&ondents "entioned one earring as a feature of an /acti+e0 <butch-lie> lesbian <Essig 1551% &. 119>. There !ere also s&ecial &atterns of acAuaintance-ai"ed beha+ior% only so"e of !hich could be recogni.ed by outsiders. In this cha&ter% I tried to argue that the &ri"er "anifestation and sho!ing-u& of the se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent !as de+elo&ed by its de+elo&"ent in the &re+ious &eriod. Although ho"ose)uality !as officially &rohibited% the la! did not &re+ent &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)ual orientations fro" for"ing a nation-!ide subculture. E"ergence of this &ublic "o+e"ent and its features !ere sha&ed by si"ultaneous /o&ening0 of se)uality to &ublic discussion and a sudden rise of social tolerance to!ards its "arers. H!* t! $ame the &!mm'$it,? The -%!lem !" %eleva$t $ami$( In this section I e)&lain "y a&&roach to na"ing the co""unity. I !ill also analy.e self-descri&tion through na"es being used in the co""unity% along !ith connotati+e "eaning of the na"es. In the last &art of the te)t I a" going to e)&lain ho! international ter"s for non-nor"ati+e se)uality based co""unities are used in this &articular national conte)t. There ne+er !as any co""only acce&ted na"e for the co""unity based on non-nor"ati+e se)uality in 1ussia% although there certainly !ere s&ecial ter"s to signify &ersons% attached to these &ractices. A researcher can not use the /nati+e0 ter"s all the ti"e% as far as they relate to a &art of the !hole co""unity% e+en if /the co""unity0 !as analytically reconstructed as an entity. (o!e+er% these /nati+e0 ter"s al!ays ha+e connotations that cannot be controlled thoroughly. I &refer to use the ter" /se4'al mi$!%it,0 in order to a+oid &roBecting of Western categories% such as /gay<s>0% /L$BT0 or /Aueer0 to this co""unity !hich still does not ha+e any united self-descri&tion and has 24 acce&ted these ter"s only recently. I also try to a+oid references to the theoretical &ers&ecti+es these ter"s had been attached to. The "ost often used /nati+e0 ter" !as tema. It literally "eans /the"e0F it is easy to say about so"ebody that he or she is /the"atic0% or /sheChe is about the the"e0. The first official *o+iet ne!s&a&er for ho"ose)uals !as entitled Tema. <At the sa"e ti"e% young &artici&ants of the co""unity !ith !ho" I discussed the to&ic in 8o+osibirs and ;rasnoyars in 244'-2446 told they hardly ne! the ter" and did not ha+e an idea of na"ing the"sel+es as /the"atic0 N so% the ter" !ould be already ina&&ro&riate for younger generation>. The "ost often used "anner to i"&ly in+ol+e"ent in the co""unity% if only &otentially% !as to signify <to s&ea about> a certain &erson "ere as ours. *urely it !as a co""on !ay to s&ea about "e"ber of the sa"e co""unity or society. ?y res&ondents used to signify by this e)&ression a /hidden%0 or /latent0 ho"ose)ual <!ho could Boin the co""unity% be he or she a!are about his or her /nature0>. The third "eaning of the !ord !as to signify a /hel&er0 - a &erson% !ho feels sy"&athy for &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality and "ay hel& to get a social ad+antage% or ad+ocate for the"% regardless of the &erson7s o!n se)uality. In short% Gour6 related to any &erson !ho &ossibly could &artici&ate in the co""unity7s acti+ity. It did not necessarily "ean that the &erson used to &ractice sa"e-se) se)ualityF the &erson could only sy"&athi.e to se)ual "inorities and so"eho! enhance the co""unity. The ter"s% "ost often used for ho"ose)uals !ere /blues0 for "en% and /lesbians0 for !o"en. In the s&eech of /blues0 the"sel+es this !ord had no hu"iliating connotations and !as neutral 12 . This ter" !as liely introduced after the $reat Patriotic War% because% according to one /+eteran0% it !as not used in the Leningrad blue co""unity before the !arF as one Eraneta7s inter+ie!ee fro" 8o+osibirs e)&lained% the ter" had successfully re&laced offensi+e &rison argot that had do"ineered before <2444% &. 121> 12 . 12 The ter" !as used by ;e+in ?oss in the title of his anthology of 1ussian ho"oerotic literature% entitled :ut of the Blue <155'>. 12 The sa"e is stated in an anony"ous inter+ie!@ /I !as a shy boyU0 R in@ Tema 1552% t4% &. 16 21 In his English-language article !hich basically re&eats his earlier te)ts <not !ithout ne! details> Igor ;on "ainly uses the ter" /blues0 <1554>F in 1ussian-language boos of the sa"e &eriod he &refers to use /gays0% &ossibly in order to facilitate the introduction of the ter" into 1ussian ordinary language <155#% 155'>. In contrast% the gendered eAui+alent for /blues0% /&in%0 !as rarely used by ho"ose)ual !o"en for the"sel+es% and !as "ore distincti+ely hu"iliating. The !ord /lesbian0 has al!ays been used for ho"ose)ual !o"en. Partly because it !as &ossible to find the ter" in 1ussian &oetry of the *il+er Age e&och and e"igration <the story is re+ealed in !ors of =iana Le!is Burgin> The !ord /ho"ose)ual0 is not usually used in relation to a !o"an in the 1ussian language. The !ord /gay0 gradually beca"e used in English s&eaing ho"ose)ual co""unities and societies only in the 2 nd &art of the 24 th Century <*&eirs 2444>. In the 1ussian conte)t it !as introduced in 1564s. ;irsano+ suggested that the !ord !as used for the first ti"e by the first official *o+iet ne!s&a&er of se)ual "inorities Tema <2449% &. 4'5>. In this ne!s&a&er% ho!e+er% the !ord /gay0 is "et relati+ely rarely. If !e co"&are usage of !ords /gay0% /ho"ose)ualist0 and /blue<s>0 as synony"s in three leading /blue0 editions of that &eriod R Tema, .7.8 and R9S2% a slight difference "ay be discerned. Ter"s /ho"ose)ual0 along !ith /ho"ose)ualists0 <a "ore strict distinction bet!een the ter"s !as de+elo&ed later> &referably !ere used in abstract cases% then the s&eech is about a &erson !ith /non-traditional0 se)ual orientation% or in &ieces of infor"ation about ho"ose)ual life abroad. The !ord /blue0 tends to be used in relation to the co""unity itself <not e)clusi+ely>% its history <for e)a"&le% Tchaio+sy !as &referably characteri.ed by his gay biogra&hers as a /blue0 &erson rather than as a /gay0 one> and foreign issues. /$ay<s>0 is used in the te)ts &ublished in that early gay and lesbian &ress !ith the least alienation% and in conte)ts that "ae it &ossible to thin that they s&ea about the"sel+es or /our &eo&le0 as a re&resentati+es of an i"aginary 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 co""unity that !as in becoming. If an article !as !ritten about history of /!estern0 gays% the !ord /ho"ose)ual0 !as used "ore liely than /gay0 but% s&eaing about conte"&orary e+ents or co""unities !hich !ould be used as cultural sa"&les% they !ould use the !ords /blue0 or /gay.0 The latter !ord has "ore ob+ious &ositi+e connotations. Eor 22 e)a"&le% in one issue of /1C140 <1552% t4 <11>>% the !ord /blue<s>0 is used 25 ti"es% /ho"ose)ualist0 - 12 ti"es% and /gay<s>0 -1# ti"es% but the !ord a&&ears in ne!s% in a re&ort about the Eounding Conference of an Association% and in a descri&tions of co""unal life <&.'>. In +arious issues of the ne!s&a&er .7.8% /blue<s>0 al"ost all the ti"e goes in Auotation "ars% that alienates this !ord% !hereas /gay<s>0 is used !ithout Auotation "ars% although the !ord has been ada&ted relati+ely recently. The co""unity !as in the &rocess of de+elo&ing a ne! identity for itself% co"&lying !ith ne! &ossibilities to s&ea about ho"ose)uality &ublicly and to act in &olitical field. The ter" /gay0 signifies reference to this &ositi+e i"age of a ne! <i"agined> co""unity% gathering &eo&le !ith non- nor"ati+e se)ual orientations% !ho !ould be free of constant social o&&ression and sociali.e as they lie. The o&&ressed grou&s% co""unities% and indi+iduals try to redefine their &osition and legiti"i.e their social and &olitical acti+ities through solidarity. It is i"&ortant for their leaders to establish a social ground for their acti+ities% and the "ore different grou&s and &ractitioners they !ould gather% the better. 8eedless to say% the ter" use)ual "inorities0 "ay include not only ho"ose)uals but% &otentially% any other non-traditional se)uality-based identities% such as bise)uals and trans+estites. This ter" !as no!n to all of the"% therefore it !ould be relati+ely easy to &olitici.e it. As Laurie Essig has discussed the ter"% it /does not rely on a si"&le binary o&&osition R heteroCho"o. Instead% non-nor"ati+e se)ualities are "ulti&le and can easily o+erla& !ith heterose)uality <e.g. &rostitution>0 <1555% &. )>. I use the ter" /se&ual minorities0 as an u"brella ter" !hich includes not only lesbians and gay "en% but other non-nor"ati+e se)ualities as !ell. (o!e+er% in fact I "ainly !rite about "ale and fe"ale ho"ose)uals. /*e)ual "inority0 is a neutral ter" !idely used in this co""unity% through "ainly by "en <in this case it co"&lies !ith /lesbians0 as gendered ter" for fe"ales>% ha+ing no o&enly gendered connotations and signifying the basic characteristics of the co""unity@ their orientation to sa"e-se) 22 se)ual &ractices 14 . Then I !rite about the !hole co""unity !hich "ay include &eo&le !ith any /non- nor"ati+e0 se)uality% !hether such a co""unity actually e)ists or not% I use ter" /se)ual "inorities0. Conte"&orary L$BT acti+ists so"eti"es !ould decline the ter"% but they often &ro&ose /L$BT0 to na"e the co""unity and the "o+e"ent. I do not thin it is a good o&tion to a&&ly the ter" in relation to a te)t describing e+ents 24 years ago% !hen the +ery abbre+iation /L$BT0 !as hardly no!n e+en to the leaders. As /se)ual "inorities0 is a ter" used in the title of the 1 st self- &roclai"ed &ublic organi.ation in 1565% thus the ter" could be at least acce&ted in that ti"e. 1ussian co""unity based on non-nor"ati+e se)uality used _se)ual "inorities_ as an u"brella ter"F ho!e+er% it ne+er !as co""only acce&ted. ?y res&ondents &referred not to use it% although :rtano+% co-founder /Association of *e)ual ?inorities0 in ?osco! told "e he lied the ter" for its uni+ersality. They acce&ted its "eaning but !ere not inclined to use it constantly% s&eaing about their co""unity<s>. Eor "e% this is a ter" of descri&tion% a+ailable for an outsider-anthro&ologistF thus it stresses s&ecificity of the "o+e"ent as &resenting interests of &eo&le !ith different non- nor"ati+e se)ualities <not only /gay "en0 and /lesbians0>. (o!e+er% it is !orth "entioning that the status of the ter" illustrates one feature of the co""unity% !hich beca"e +isible during fifteen years of its &ublic de+elo&"ent. It consists al"ost e)clusi+ely of ho"ose)uals Rgays and lesbiansF other &ossible non-nor"ati+e se)uality-based identities <lie trans+estites% transgender &ersons% B=*?% s!ingers and others> are not +isible as se&arate grou&s. The &o&ular Western ter" L$BT is not !idely used in the 1ussian co""unity. This ter" is an a&&arent a&&ro&riation of identity belonging to another cultural area. It is used no!adays by acti+ists !ho try to e"&hasi.e their &artici&ation in global L$BT net!ors <and allegedly to get access to the recourses of the net!or>. 8one of "y res&ondents agreed !ith this ter". In fact% there !as no reason to acce&t it. Classic Western definition of the ter" i"&lies different grou&s a!are of si"ilarities of their situations and interests coo&erating in social and &olitical struggle. In 1ussia% /gays0 and /lesbians0 see" to be t!o do"inant grou&s% 14 :ne of "y res&ondents% M. :rtano+% defined the co""unity through /h!m!e%!ti& interests0 as o&&osed to /heteroerotic0 interests% shared by the surrounding "aBority. I thin this a&&roach is +ery hel&ful in understanding of the life-!orld of the co""unities &artici&ants% but too co"&licated to be used is a socio-anthro&ological !or. I loo at &eo&le7s beha+ior and &ublic self-&resentation% not daring get into their "inds !here their lo+es and /true0 desires li+e. 24 enco"&assing other <e)isting or +irtually &ossible> grou&s lie /bise)uals%0 /transgender0 &ersons and others. As 8ade.hda 8arto+a found in her research of a *t. Petersburg "iddle class lesbian co""unity% it7s sha&e and "ode of e)istence !as highly nor"ali.ed% according to heteronor"ati+e "odels. It ha&&ened to be &ossible to nor"ali.e /lesbians0% but not for the &ersons !hose se)ual identities &roble"ati.e gender contract as such <for e)a"&le% transse)uals> <Inter+ie! !ith 8ade.hda 8arto+a>. Thus% the routine usage of this ter" "ay sho! a le+el of &oliti.ation of a grou& or acti+ist <or at least the &resence of a &olitical clai">. To &roclai" oneself /L$BT0 is to try to &resent one7s agenda as &art of global &olitical agenda of /se)ual "inorities0F that7s !hy a national &olitical association established in su""er of 2449 in order to act together against ho"o&hobia and discri"ination in 1ussian society% !as entitled /L$BT 8et!or 1ussia0 1# <?*?U% 244'>. The &rocess of introduction of the na"es continues no!adays. The ter" /Aueer0 used by Laurie Essig as a ter" of theoretical descri&tion is used neither in the &ublished "aterials aboutCof the co""unity% nor by any of "y res&ondents% it is not e+en a&&reciated by the" <although it is interesting that :rtano+ ga+e "e an inter&retation of his fa+orite ter" /se)ual "inority0 striingly si"ilar to "ainstrea" "eaning of the ter" /Aueer0 19 >. But as soon as a &o&ular gay Bournal is entitled /`ueer0 <;m^b>% it !ould &ossibly beco"e "ore &o&ular soon in younger generation. To su""ari.e this% I should state that there has ne+er been single definite !ay to s&ea about &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality as a grou&. In the legendary ti"es of /underground life0% they de+elo&ed a set of s&eech techniAues to "ention &eo&le belonging to the co""unity. In the &eriod after 1554% a slight a&&ro&riation of the na"e /gay0 could be discerned. This ter" related to the i"agined /co""unity0 !hich !ould be sha&ed on the basis of the &re-e)isting one. The ter" !omose&ual:ist3 !as in use% too. The ter"s used for self-descri&tion a"ong Western co""unities of &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality <L$BT% Aueer> ha+e not been a&&ro&riated <this fact should be in+estigted together !ith the state"ent about reluctant and !ea a&&ro&riation of /"ainstrea"0 1# htt&@CClgbtnet.ruF te)t of foundational agree"ent <in 1ussian> is a+ailable at@ htt&@CClgbtnet.ruCne!sCdetail.&h&3I=v2421. 19 It !as interesting for "e to found that he defined as /se)ual "inority0 any &erson !hose se)ual &ractices do not fall under ideas and attitudes to /nor"al0 se)uality of his or her en+iron"ent. I thought he eAuated /se)ual "inority0 and /Aueer0. When I ased hi" about his usage of the ter" /Aueer0 he said that he &ractically did not need it. 2# !estern gay identities by the 1ussian co""unity>. The best ter" that "ay be used in the descri&tion of the co""unity and its "o+e"ent is /se)ual "inorities0. It does not hide the &resence of other grou&s lie transgender &eo&les !ho &artici&ate in the life of the co""unity% but ha+e not been acti+e <or lucy> enough to for" se&arate grou&s based on an identity of their o!n. 29 #ha-te% 83 The eme%(e$&e !" the R'ssia$ se4'al mi$!%ities m!veme$t a"te% 29:93 Pe%i!)i5ati!$ !" the m!veme$t i$ the &!$te4t !" late-S!viet a$) P!st-S!viet R'ssia In this section% I try to "ae a general chronological fra"e!or for analy.ing the e"ergence and de+elo&"ent of the gay and lesbian "o+e"ent in conte"&orary 1ussia. I loo at a &ossible &eriodi.ation of the "o+e"ent% and e)&lain &olitical and cultural s&ecificity of the &eriod. A &eriodi.ation is i"&ortant for research lie this one because !e need to fra"e the obser+ed &rocess in ti"e. :ne &ossible &eriodi.ation is already introduced by Igor ;on <155'% &. 2#4>. It is based on the degree of /&ublicity0 of the se)ual "inorities and their acti+ities. The cha&ter !ith this te)t fro" ;on7s boo is being re&eatedly re&roduced on 1ussian se)ual "inorities grou&s7 !eb-sitesF therefore it stands to reason that it influences the self-understanding of the grou&s. ;on discerns four "ain &eriods in history of se)ual "inorities in the ,**1C1ussia@ 1524-1569 &eriod of discri"ination% &enal &rosecution and silencingF 156'-1554 beginning of o&en% &ublic discussion of the &roble" by scientists and BournalistsF 1554- Dune 1552 se)ual "inorities enter the /&ublic scene0% /hu"an rights0 are accentuated in the discussions% the &roble" is transfor"ed fro" "edical to &olitical oneF and the first organi.ations e"erge. After declining of the article 121.1 in ?ay% 155'% the ne! &eriod follo!s@ the situation for gays and lesbians gets better% /the ho"ose)ual underground0 begins transfor"ing itself into a /blue0 subculture0 <;on 155'% &. 292>% and "ore o&tions for struggle against ho"o&hobia and for legal guarantees of non-discri"ination a&&ear. The disad+antage of this &eriodi.ation is that the 2 nd and 2 rd &eriod are not distincti+ely e"&hasi.ed. The first organi.ation of se)ual "inorities has a&&eared in the ,**1 as soon as in 1564% and it already for"ulates its &olitical de"ands <the grou& of Ale)andr Hare"ba>. It see"s to "e that these t!o &eriods should be co"bined into one. In the broader social fra"e% that ti"e !as the ti"e of late Perestroia and the colla&se of the ,**1. *ocial acti+ities and identity-building of the co""unity 2' utili.ed o&&ortunities that e)isted in that certain &eriod. Although any generali.ation of this ind is ine+itably shallo!% it is necessary to connect the co""unity7s transfor"ations !ith broader transfor"ations of the 1ussian society in that &eriod <&ost state-socialist transition>% and in the global conte)t <intensification of globali.ation &rocesses> as !ell. The i$itial -e%i!) of se)ual "inorities7 acti+ities has begun% I thin% for"ally in 29:9% !hen the first ne!s&a&er <officially registered only later> and the first &ublic organi.ations of the se)ual "inorities ha+e a&&eared. Before% /co"ing out0 did not ha&&en in "ublic s&here and could not beca"e a basis for any &olitical &rogra". *ince that ti"e% the real "o+e"ent is being reinforced by /co"ing out0 of its leaders. In the ne)t t!o years% the "o+e"ent institutiali.es itself re"arably fast. This /initial0 &eriod finishes in 155#-1559. In this ti"e% <1> social acti+ity of the &o&ulation in general beco"es !eaer% and the !hole situation in the &ublic s&here changes <beco"es "ore nor"ali.ed>% <2> organi.ational "odels of the organi.ations are e)hausted% and their leaders often decide to gi+e u& &ublic acti+ity% thus "any organi.ations% if they e+en still stay ali+e% gi+e u& acti+e &artici&ation in the &ublic s&ace% and <2> the ne! generation of gay-business entre&reneurs e"erges. In short% the country changes% thus the !ay ho! the co""unity !as structured and organi.ed% is to change as !ell. The last &oint in this chronological transition is the shar& econo"ical crisis in 1ussia in A'('st+ 299:3 At that ti"e nu"erous social acti+ities !ere abandoned because &eo&le beca"e i"&o+erished and could not continue the". As :rtano+ has e)&lained it% This &eriod !as about its end in 155#% but I !as absolutely sure% that the breado!n !as in 1556. I ne! "any &eo&le !ho had interests in acti+ities% and &roBects% but after 1556 they Bust ga+e it all u&. Eirstly% they beco"e &oorer. *econdly% the de"ocrats7 &o!er betrayed us then for the first ti"e. We had a great deal of o&ti"is" before 1556% but thenU At the sa"e ti"e% <4> the generational change too &lace. Certlich says bet!een the /old guard0% !ho ca"e into the co""unity already in the ti"e of the ,**1% or Bust in ti"e of its colla&se% and could easily re"e"ber that sad e)&erience of total /closet0% and o&&oses the +eterans to the /young0 or /ne! guard0 !ho ca"e in after 1552. The latter already could not share that e)&erience of being in o&&osition to the state and the society. This /ne! guard0% re&resenting "ainly younger generations% beha+ed the"sel+es differently% had another i"age of the co""unity and another e)&ectations. *he 26 argued that at least in the lesbian co""unity this difference !as reali.ed and o&enly discussed. Laurie Essig% !ho finished her obser+ations at Bust about that ti"e% concluded that the <first> &eriod of gay and lesbian self-organi.ation !as al"ost o+er in 1554F she e+en entitled the related section in her boo /the fall of Aueer &oliticsCthe rise of Aueer subBecti+ities0 <Essig 1555% &. 9'>. Ero" her &oint of +ie!% the transfor"ation of the society she s&oe about &erfectly confor"ed to her theory. *he argued that the first &eriod !as o+er% and /...there !ere still "any organi.ations and grou&s based &ri"arily on se)ual identity but fe! of the" !ere as successful and ho&eful as they had been in the &astU WtXhe fissures that a&&eared early a"ong Aueer acti+ists ha+e only dee&enedU =isillusion"ent !ith Western "odels of organi.ing and identity% a shar& decrease in interest and funding fro" Western sources% and a general feeling that the &olitics of se)ual identity !as not "eant to flourish on 1ussian soil ha+e all da"&ened the early glo! of Aueer acti+ists.0 <ibid.% &.96-95> Einally% the ra&id de+elo&"ent of internet sol+ed the infor"ation &roble" !hich !as so crucially i"&ortant before the late 1554s% and &ro+ided ne! recourses for ne! leaders 1' . This essayGs target is descri&tion of the initial &eriod. The social and &olitical i"&act of the loss of the "ain organi.ationsG influence should be discussed se&arately. (ere I Bust state that the /ne! guard0 &o&ulation could not sociali.e in these organi.ations si"&ly because of their disa&&earanceF thus% the /ne! guard0 had to re-in+ite the co""unities again. <The reasons of this ru&ture are discussed belo!>. This &eriod still continues no!adays. *e+eral "ain leaders of the conte"&orary co""unity ha+e acAuired their influence in this &eriod. It does not "ean that all &re+ios leaders &eriod lost their influenceF rather% no! they ha+e to continue their acti+ities in a refra"ed field. 1' A bright e)a"&le of the"% according to all of "y res&ondents% is the o!ner of !!!.gay.ru Ed ?ishin <?ihail Ede"sy>. (e !as re&eatedly "entioned by "y res&ondents as an e)a"&le of the ne! generation7s leader. 25 The "i%st -'li& h!m!se4'al !%(a$i5ati!$s+ thei% i$te%ests a$) aims In this section I describe the e"ergence of the first organi.ed grou&s and true organi.ations% not only in the ca&ital% but in other 1ussian cities as !ell. I loo at the details of se+eral acti+ities of that ti"e and try to discern differences of their a&&roaches to the future of the co""unity. These differences "ay be effecti+ely used for ty&ologi.ation of these &ublic acti+ities. In the end of the section% I "ae a co"&arison of their acti+ities. The first stable grou& of acti+ists% !oring on behalf of se)ual "inorities% !as organi.ed in Leningrad in 1562 by Alesandr Hare"ba. It !as na"ed /the Blue laboratory0. Its history !as described by one of the ey figures of *t. Petersburg7 gay scene% Alesei *cherbao+ <1551>. Hare"ba !as a Aualified linguist and could co""unicate !ith foreigners. It !as re"arable in this organi.ation that its acti+ity included all the "ain to&ics of future organi.ations of ho"ose)uals in 1ussia. There !ere about 24 &ersons of both se)es in the /Laboratory0 16 <Hare"ba7s !ife !as characteri.ed in the article as /lesbian0>. Ero" the +ery beginning% this grou& achie+ed contacts !ith !estern organi.ations. Hare"ba !rote to the International Lesbian and $ay Association <IL$A>% and in Duly 1564 re&resentati+es of IL$A +isited Leningrad. It !as at that ti"e that the IL$A7s international conference !as held in (elsini <so that they did not ha+e to tra+el a long distance to get to Leningrad>. The Einnish organi.ation *ETA !as the grou&s7 re&resentati+e at the conference. The /laboratory0 also tried to establish contacts !ith other /the"atic0 organi.ations in order to recei+e not only "oral su&&ort but infor"ation useful fin the organi.ation of &olitical struggle. As :lga ;rau.e re"e"bers about this grou&% I ne! an astonishing story of ho! they established contacts !ith the 8etherlands@ one of the" had !ritten a letter to /I.+estia0 Wleading national ne!s&a&erX asing if any &olitical "o+e"ent of ho"ose)uals e)isted WabroadX and ho! one could learn about it. Than $od% the letter ca"e into the hands of one of /our0 &eo&le% and they ga+e the" the address of =utch Co""unist Party% or for!arded the letterU 16 Laurie Essig "entions this grou& as /gay laboratory0 <1555> The sa"e does Igor ;on. (o!e+er% as :lga ;rau.e &ointed out in inter+ie!% the !ord /gay0 absolutely !as not used in the co""unity in that ti"e. *cherbao+ !rote about /grou&0 !ithout gi+ing it a &articular na"e. 44 I thin that the /blue laboratory0 antici&ated the &ers&ecti+es and interests of later L$BT organi.ations. A"ong their acti+ities !ere@ 1> *tudies in history of ho"ose)uality and distribution of infor"ation about it. 2> *earch for contacts !ith foreign organi.ations and centers% using &ersonal and infor"al <+ia /our0 &eo&le> channels. 2> Atte"&ts to co"bine and coordinate acti+ities in cultural and &olitical areas. The grou& began to sub"it corres&ondence to Einnish ne!sletter /*ETA0. ,nsur&risingly% the grou& fell under ;$B obser+ation fro" the +ery beginning% but could continue its acti+ity until the first o&en threats fro" the ;$B till August of 1564F is not clear% !hy they !ere let to be acti+e for longer than t!o years. It !as "ainly &roBect of one bright &ersonality% Alesandr Hare"ba. (e "o+ed to ;ie+ <he !ould beco"e a distinguished acade"ician there>% but other "e"bers of the grou&% *cherbao+ and :lga Hhu !ould &lay an i"&ortant role in the later establish"ent of /the"atic0 associations in LeningradC*t. Petersburg. The /blue laboratory0 did not establish any tradition% and !as al"ost ne+er "entioned by other acti+ists in their stories. (o!e+er% its i"&ortance !as in this antici&ation of future acti+ities of this ind. Dust as the /laboratory0 !as% all the subseAuent organi.ations !ere de&endent on the !ill of their founders and leaders and did not beco"e inde&endently li+ing &roBects. ?osco! and Leningrad <*t. Petersburg since 1551>% t!o "ain cities of the country% !ere the t!o "ain centers of the se)ual "inorities7 co""unity in the ,**1. Therefore% researchers usually &aid their "ain attention to e+ents and &rocesses in these t!o central "ega&olices 15 . At the sa"e ti"e% self- organi.ation of the se)ual "inorities7 co""unity !as rising in "any &laces in the country si"ultaneously% and the grou&s in the ca&itals7 !ere not the only national &ioneers in it. =ifferent grou&s had si"ilar agendas and &resented the"sel+es to their en+iron"ent in si"ilar "anner% because <1> se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent !as an organic &art of a broader and "ore general rise of social self- organi.ation of that ti"e. The Perestroia effecti+ely sti"ulated "ass acti+ities all o+er the country. As "y res&ondents% along !ith authors of different !ors about these e+ents ha+e "entioned% there 15 They !ere also the "ost /accessible0 sites for Western researchers. There they !ould find &eo&le !ho !ould s&ea foreign languages% +ibrant cultural life etc. It is clear for" =a+id TullerG boo% for e)a"&le% ho! hea+ily he de&ended on the e"erging infrastructure of e)&atriates7 life in ?osco! and *t.Petersburg. 41 !as a feeling of ne! and ho&eful o&&ortunities% o&ened by the social transfor"ation% and this "ass enthusias" "ade recently incredible e)&eri"ents and enter&rises &ossible. The &olitical syste" !as considerably tolerant in that ti"e. As M. :rtano+ told "e% one can say that gays began only because the Perestroia had begun. If it hadn7t begun% as it had not in the ti"e of Hare"ba% all the acti+is" !ould be finished in the sa"e !ay by the ;$B. As the Perestroia began% the gay7s "o+e"ent started to "o+e itself ahead. <2> The nation-!ide co""unity !as already ready to launch &ublic self-organi.ation. There !as a co""on agenda that had been reali.ed and for"ed inside the co""unity in the &re+ious &eriod. ConseAuently% as soon as the socio&olitical en+iron"ent had changed% grou&s in different &laces began to e"erge. Acti+ists <&otential leaders of the co""unity> too ad+antage of these ne! o&tions o&ened by the social transfor"ation% and the /co""unity0 &roduced the "o+e"ent by their acti+ities. There !as a &ro"inent e)&ert !ho &layed funda"entally i"&ortant role in the early sha&e of the "o+e"ent. It !as Igor ;on% the "ost !ell-no!n 1ussian s&ecialist in se)ology and sociology of se)uality 24 % !ho &aid great efforts for it. (is ey role !as not only of an authoritati+e consultant and &ublic ad+ocate of the "o+e"ent. (e effecti+ely !ored as a connecting "oint to!ards international intellectual co""unity in this field <his o!n uniAue library of related literature "ust be "entioned as an i"&ortant recourse that influences the !hole nation co""unity>. As an e)&ert% he &ro+ided the acti+ists !ith necessary scientific no!ledge% references and facts <he !ould still do it no!adays>. Thus% the "o+e"ent7s leaders had an influential ad+ocate and consultant !ho hel&ed the" find their !ay to organi.e. The e+ent that triggered self-organi.ation and collecti+e co"ing out of the "inorities !as international scientific conference /Minorities and society. T!e c!anging attitudes toards !omose&uality in ;8 t! century <uro"e0 that ha&&ened in Tallinn% Estonia% in 26-24 ?ay. 1554. It !as the first &ublic discussions of ho"ose)uality on the territory of the ,**1 <Parias and Meis&a 1551>. ?any future leaders of the "o+e"ent !ere in+ited to the conference on basis of &ersonal reco""endations of Igor ;on. The conference effecti+ely encouraged the" to co"e out &ublicly. 24 (is 9ntroduction to se&ology </M+edenie + sesologiyu0<1566>> !as the "ost &o&ular and acno!ledged !or about se)ology% consu"ed by the 1ussian audience in this historical &eriod. (is influence !as characteri.ed in@ <$essen 2442>. 42 A concise outline of the &eriod7 history belo! is based on the inter+ie!s% AL$ "aterials and !ors of other researchers <Essig 1555% ;irsano+ 2449F ;on 1554% 155#% 155'F Tuller 1556>. It !as co""only acno!ledged that the first grou& of se)ual "inorities7 acti+ists !as the 6Ass!&iati!$ !" Se4'al Mi$!%ities7 0ASM1 established by Eugenia =ebryansaya% 1o"an ;alinin and Mladisla+ :rtano+. This organi.ation a&&eared as a collecti+e action of a grou& of &ersons% e+eryone of !ho" had &ersonal &olitical ai"s. Eugenia =ebraynsaya already had e)&erience of o&&ositional &olitical acti+ity. *he !as a"ong the co-founders of /=e"ocratic ,nion0% the first &ublic "o+e"ent for &olitical refor"ation of the *o+iet syste" and% at the sa"e ti"e% !as in inti"ate relations !ithin the circle of Ale.andr =ougin <!ho !as her lo+er>% one of the "ost influential &ro-fascist% reactionary intellectuals in 1ussiaF thus% she si"ultaneously &artici&ated in the e"ergence of t!o o&&osite &olitical &ers&ecti+es in the country 21 . In that ti"e% her flat in ?osco! beca"e a "eeting &lace for &olitical discussions and conferences. Thus% =ebryansaya consciously tried to enter the &olitical field. I ho&e her acti+ities of that &eriod "ay be su""ari.ed in conclusion that =ebryansaya turned herself into a /&ublic character%0 as ?itchell =uneier defines this ty&e of social actor% Auoting Dane Dacobs@ /a &ublic character is anyone !ho is in freAuent contact !ith a !ide circle of &eo&le and !ho is sufficiently interested to "ae hi"self a &ublic character. A &ublic character need ha+e no s&ecial talents or !isdo"U he Bust needs to be &resent% and there need to be enough of his counter&artsU0 <1555% &. 9>. It is i"&ortant for sur+i+al of infor"al net!ors that certain &ersons function as an interconnection of different societies and infor"ation flo!sF they also facilitate gro!ing u& of different concrete grou&s. Additionally% the situation allo!ed =ebryansaya to tae &art in /&olitical ga"es0 a"ong others. A"ong other co-founders of A*? !ere :rtano+ and ;alinin% !ho began &ublishing of the first officially registered ne!s&a&er for gays and lesbians /Tema0. :rtano+ !as a scientist !ith a stable social and &rofessional status. (e !as intended to &artici&ate in de-cri"inali.ation of ho"ose)uality% and he !as interested in s&eciali.ed editions for gays <due to his &ersonal interests in gay erotics and 21 ;irsano+% 2449% &&. 411-412F Laurie Essig <1555% &. 141-142> characteri.es her &olitical +isions as conser+ati+e- nationalistic% that is% according to Essig% unusual for lesbigay acti+ists and should be thought of as a s&ecific feature of 1ussian "o+e"ent. 42 de&ending on his &ersonal acAuaintance !ith foreign sa"&les of it during tri&s abroad !hich he did as a scientist>. (e also tried to facilitate counter-AI=* acti+ities. In a sense% Vlad 4rtano# as t!e (ey figure in t!e early gay mo#ement of "ost'So#iet Russia. We "ay get to the conclusion considering that these three trends of his &ersonal targeting of his acti+ities N &olitical struggle for decri"inali.ation and antidiscri"ination 22 % de+elo&"ent of national /gay culture0% anti-AI=* &rogra"s <de+elo&"ent of se)ual education% in broad sense> N !ould beco"e the "ain ai"s of the "o+e"ent. Pet% he ne+er tried to gat any &ublic acno!ledge"ent% enBoing being Bust a /"ere &artici&ant0 of the "o+e"ent. 1o"an ;alinin% !ho !as a student at that ti"e% !as a socially acti+e &erson not afraid to /co"e out0 and beca"e /the first o&en gay in 1ussia0 < ;irsano+ 244#>. (e !as acAuainted !ith =ebryansaya% and she &ro"ised hi" su&&ort in his acti+ities. Before co""encing the !hole enter&rise !ith the Te"a% ;alinin !ored in a ne! &olitical ne!s&a&er =o#aya >!i)n$ </8e! Life0>% acAuiring the necessary e)&erience in ne!s&a&er-"aing. Eollo!ing an announce"ent in that ne!s&a&er% :rtano+ had got in touch !ith ;alinin% and in the +ery end of 8o+e"ber they co"&leted the first nu"ber of Tema. Thus% initially it !as a result of coo&eration of t!o enthusiasts% !ho checed the Bust-transfor"ed social situation !hether it !as tolerant enough for dis&lay of such unusual identity. They e)&erienced that this initiati+e could acAuire success in the ne! circu"stances. The ne!s&a&er !as &rinted in 1iga by ;alinin. (e used his &ersonal contacts !ith a &rinting house to do it. In that ti"e% the three <still *o+iet> Baltic countries !ere a ind of recourse base for e"erging &ublishing and Bournalist &roBects fro" all o+er the ,**1 22 . In ter"s of net!or building% these countries !ere a s&ecial &oint in the infor"al syste" of infor"ation e)change that &ro+ided the &ossibility for &rinting. The first issue !as distributed by +endor "erchants in ?osco! N by those of the" !ho too on the"sel+es the ris to sell this ind of &rinting stuff N it !as more dangerous than to sell &ornogra&hy. As :rtano+ e)&lained% if they !anted to register the ne!s&a&er officially% they had to 22 In the inter+ie!% he stated that the struggle for legislati+e &rohibition of discri"ination "ust be and actually is the "ain &olitical obBecti+e for 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ents since the decri"inali.ation. 22 As :rtano+ &ut it% /E+erything !as &rinted there. It !as chea&er% and it !as easier0. The first 1ussian edition of Ed!ard Li"ono+7s scandalous no+el /It7s "e% Eddie0% !hich introduced ho"oerotic i"ages to the broad national audience !as &rinted there% too. 44 be an organi.ation running the ne!s&a&er <a &ri+ate &erson could not ha+e a &rinted edition>. Thereby% A*? !as established at the +ery end of 1565. It !as "ade as an /u"brella0-organi.ation for any &ublic acti+ities in fa+or of se)ual "inorities. It did not ha+e a fi)ed "e"bershi&@ anyone !ho !ored in accordance !ith its ideas could &roclai" hi"self or herself a "e"ber of the organi.ation. *oon after% M!s&!* Ass!&iati!$ !" Ga,s a$) Lesia$s ca"e instead of A*?. The grou& !as not better for"ed or organi.ed. The transfor"ation of na"e !as significant@ it beca"e "ore defined and "ore 0&resentable0% I !ould suggest% for Western &artners. The years 1554-1551 !ere ti"e of e)&eri"ents and self-deter"ination for the grou& of acti+ists. At that ti"e% they !ere in the center of &ublic attention <Essig 1555F 1obinson 1552>. The grou& that had established A*? and se+eral other si"ilar e&he"eral /organi.ations0 after it% constituted one &ers&ecti+e in the self-organi.ation of the ?osco! se)ual "inorities7 co""unity. They tried to establish a tradition of /o&enly gay acti+ist0. As far as there !as no tradition of identity &olitics in 1ussia before <or it !as ther only for se+eral years right after the :ctober 1e+olution>% they found their analogues and s"&le &atterns in the West. They !ere "ainly oriented at the ,*A <!ith /A"erican0 "odels of tough &olitical conflict for recognition of the identity>% !hereas /culturally oriented0 acti+ists 24 !as in closer contact !ith Euro&ean <$er"any% the 8etherlands> acti+ists and organi.ations. The acti+ity of the sa"e grou& of leaders led to the e"ergence of an organi.ation !hich &ossibly !ould beco"e the first official and &ublicly legiti"i.ed organi.ation for re&resentation the interests of non-nor"ati+e se)ual identities in 1ussian society and &ublic s&here and ad+ocating their <&resu"ed> grou& interests. It !as called 6R'ssia$ Ga,+ Lesia$ a$) ;ise4'als O%(a$i5ati!$ #e$te% <T%ia$(le=7. Leaders of the &re+iously e)isting /,nion of Co"ing :ut 2# 0 and the /?osco! $ay and Lesbian Center0% as !ell as editors uthe"atic0 &ress re&resentati+es of anti-AI=* 24 The distinction is e)&lained bello! in ch. 2.2. 2# In 1ussian% this grou& !as na"ed +erbati" /,nion of Liberation0 <snwx yamnknzc[d^{>% !hile in English &resentation te)ts they used ter" /co"ing out0% &erha&s% ada&ting the"sel+es to the e)&ectation of their Western addressees. 4# organi.ations Boined it. The Center uTriangle7 !as established at Eounding Conference in August% 1552 in ?osco!. This organi.ation !as &lanned as nation-!ide. A !o"an fro" 8o+osibirs !as elected as the President. The real acti+ity of the Triangle !as in the res&onsibility of the Coordination Co""ittee <about 14 &ersons% al"ost all of the" ?osco! residents>. The organi.ation de+elo&ed +arious acti+ities. It !as i"&ortant that the Center uTriangle7 !as for" the +ery beginning &lanned as a &rofessionali.ed 8$:% &ro"oting interests of a &articular social grou& in the nation scale. They e+en !ired a director <Andrey ?ai"ylahin>% !ho !as chosen for his &rofessional Aualifications as a &erson able to "anage the organi.ational !or. I considered this fact a sign of a ne! a&&roach to organi.ation building 29 . The Center7s "ain foreign &artner !as IL$A% !hich !as interested in ha+ing a united center for "anaging different &roBects in the country. The Center Triangle beca"e a full "e"ber of IL$A 2' in Danuary of 155#. ,nfortunately% the regular fundraising !as not de+elo&ed.. When the fund recei+ed fro" IL$A !as e)hausted% the organi.ation had got no official registration yet. If it had% it !ould ha+e been the first organi.ation re&resenting interests of the L$BT co""unity in the country. The &ersonal conflicts bet!een the organi.ers co"bined !ith its financial difficulties% and as late as the end of 1559% the Center Triangle disintegrated. A successor organi.ation% the ,G*T =etor( Russia% !ould a&&ear only in 2449. In LeningradC*t. Petersburg% the e"ergence of the "o+e"ent ca"e another !ay. This city had its o!n long traditions of underground ho"ose)ual life <1otio+ 1556>. The grou&s7 relation to traditions !as "uch "ore reflected in this site than in other "o+e"ent sites of the country. An acti+e &artici&ant of /Blue laboratory0% *ergei *cherbao+% Boined grou&s established in this &eriod. The "ost !ell-no!n and &o&ulari.ed organi.ations !ere St3 Pete%s'%( Ga, a$) Lesia$ H'ma$ Ri(hts #e$te% <initially -Association of $ays and Lesbians> >%,lia% lead by &rof. Alesandr ;uharsy% and the T&haik!vsk, ?'$) "!% #'lt'%al I$itiatives lead by :lga Hhu. They did not 29 After the ter"ination of The Center Triangle acti+ities% ?ai"ulahin "o+ed to ,raine and beca"e a leader of a health care organi.ation in Lugans. 2' The Letter of confir"ation of full "e"bershi& in IL$A% signed 16.41.155# <AL$% Eile 9#>. 49 ha+e any "utual coo&eration% although there !as no &rinci&al contradiction a"ong the"F ho!e+er% the both organi.ations !ere distincti+ely one-leader styled% and their acti+ities !ere dri+en by single acti+e &erson. Lie other less recogni.able grou&s in both ?osco! and *t. Petersburg% their leaders &aid s&ecial attention to official organi.ational for"s. 8a"es of both grou&s !ere reclai"ings of the 1ussian ho"oerotic /tradition0 <!hich they !ere re- in+enting>. The ;rylia !as na"ed after the boo of the *il+er age &oet ?ihail ;u."in% !hich had been fetishi.ed a"ong certain grou&s already in *o+iet ho"ose)ual underground. It !as one of the &ro"inent ho"oerotic te)ts in 1ussian tradition. /Tchaio+sy Eond0 recei+ed its na"e after Petr Tchaio+sy% a $reat 1ussian co"&oser% !hose <closeted> ho"ose)uality !as a subBect of discussions and nu"erous e)&lorations. (e !as a hero and ey historical figure for those !ho tried to re-construct the /tradition0 of non-nor"ati+e se)uality in 1ussia. At the sa"e ti"e% the fund7s na"e !as a signal for /the"atic0 &eo&le. As :lga Hhu e)&lained it later% !hen they atte"&ted to register the organi.ation% WWhile registrationX !e had difficulties !ith "ayor. They did not !ant to allo! us to use the na"e of the co"&oser% because it !ould offend hi" Whis "e"oryX% but for us it !as a &rinci&al &osition. We !anted to say by that@ /you ha+e acno!ledged that gay co"&oser% so tae all the rest of us% gays% no!O0 In &a&ers !e !ere officially entitled /Eund for Cultural Initiati+e and se)ual "inorities7 &ro"otion0% but in "edia !e a&&eared e)actly as /Tchaio+sy Eund0 <An"egiBan 244#>.
The ;rylia "ay be described as an interesting <and al"ost uniAue> case of L$BT organi.ation in 1ussia% ha+ing e)isted and been acti+e for such a long ti"e. Ero" the +ery establish"ent it "aid its tas Buridical consultations and other hel& for gays. ;uharsy had been successfully &racticing this for a long &eriod before the organi.ation !as de+elo&ed. (e !as al!ays &roud for his &ersonal contribution to the de+elo&"ent of regional /blue culture.0 The organi.ation organi.ed se"inars and lectures by different s&ecialists and regular "eetings 26 . There !as also a &articular e)&erience of coo&eration bet!een the "o+e"ent and fe"inists organi.ations. The "ost !ell-no!n case !as in LeningradC*t.Petersburg. It !as the site of the "ost 26 *t.Peterburg7s lesbians !ith !ho" I s&oe had no interest in /;rylia07s acti+ities. I can suggest these acti+ities are oriented "ainly at a relati+ely closed circle of gays% belonging to one or closer generation !ho use the" &ri"arily as a good &ossibility for regular "eetings !ith old friends. The i"&act of such acti+ity for the !hole local co""unity is not clear. 4' de+elo&ed 0tradition0 of fe"inist organi.ing in 1ussia. The first 1ussian underground fe"inist organi.ation% /Maria%0 a&&eared here as soon as in 15'5 <$essen 1556>. In 1566% :lga Li&o+saya began editing and &ublishing self-"ade fe"inists Bournal >!ens(o%e C!tenie </1eading for Wo"en0>% and in 1551 began to "anage different fe"inist acti+ities% the "ost successful of !hich !as St. Petersburg Center for Gender Problems. Li&o+saya coo&erated !ith se)ual "inorities7 acti+ists% although this coo&eration !as not al!ays successful 25 . 8e+ertheless% her Center should be "entioned a"ong the organi.ations that &ro"oted lesbian acti+is" in the country. It !as a rare case of fe"inists !oring together !ith se)ual "inorities7 acti+ists. Another ey figure of the LeningradC*t. Petersburg "o+e"ent !as singer :lga ;rau.e% !hose &ersonal story is analy.ed in the last section. At the sa"e ti"e% there !ere other local initiati+es% !hich !ere not successful in recei+ing an official registration. They should be "entioned here. Eor e)a"&le% a grou& of girls calling the"sel+es /Sa--h! Pete%s'%(0 began to organi.e disco &arties for se)ual "inorities. It !as necessary to ha+e negations !ith the ad"inistrators of clubs% and to infor" the rest of the co""unity. Both tass !ere not easy <a disa&&ointing descri&tion of their &arties can be found in@ Essig 1555% &&.''-'6>. The grou& !as lucy to be officially in+ited to Berlin and later to :"s <a regional center in *iberia> to &artici&ate in festi+als. /*a&&ho Peter0 also a&&eared as an situational ans!er to the need of gathering &eo&le together. :ne of its obBecti+es !as to &ro+ide the" infor"ation and hel&. Established by lesbians% it !as &ri"arily% although not e)clusi+ely% oriented at this audience. Poung lesbian acti+ists !ho &artici&ated in these actions e&t !oring in ne)t years% then the leaders of the &re+ious /generation0 ceased their acti+ity. *i"ultaneously% se)ual "inorities7 organi.ations e"erged in regional cities. In :"s% a grou& of ho"ose)uals tried to establish itself as an unofficial organi.ation. Its history could be &artially traced by their self-"ade ne!sletter 4ms(aya Tema </Te"a in :"s0> 24 . Initially% that organi.ation !as 25 Eor the instance% she encouraged "y inter+ie!ee 8atalia and her friends to organi.e% but &roduced burdens for :lga ;rau.e7s organi.ational efforts at the sa"e ti"e <according to inter+ie!s !ith the">. 24 There are 14 issues in the collection of ?osco! Lesbian and $ay Archi+e. The ne!sletter is ty&e!ritten. The language is +ery colloAuial% and I consider it "ust be classified as a /fan.ine0 targeted to a s"all and close co"&any. 46 entitled /yry|}~0 <3>% but in Duly it !as re-na"ed 6>l' <P!isk=7. There !as a list of its "e"bers in issue 5 <*e&te"ber 1551>% including 4# na"es !ith 4 /enlisted fore+er0. The content consisted of descri&tions of +isits to other cities <"ainly 8o+osibirs>% club ne!s <not understandable for an outsider>F the issue 9 had a re&rint fro" ?osco! gay editions /Te"a0 and /1I*;0. It !as re"arable that the descri&tion of the /club0 changed !ith e+ery issue. In the beginning it !as re&resented in a "anner% a&ing official *o+iet re&orts about +arious official "eetingsF in later ne!s% besides the change of the na"e and the "otto of the ne!sletter <fro" the &arody /gays of the !orld% uniteO0 to the less alienated /I no longer !ant to hide "y lo+eU0>. :b+iously% there !as a ra&id &rocess of self- deter"ination in that local co""unity. E)tracts for" the Te"a and 1I*; sho!n that this grou& !as connected !ith other se)ual "inorities7 co""unities in the country. In ;rasnoyars% Sie%ia$ Ass!&iati!$ !" Se4'al Mi$!%ities !as established about 1554 by a grou& of gay friends. A gay "an% !ho !as inter+ie!ed by Eraneta% thought that the "ain result of the Association7s e)istence !as to create the acAuaintance and friendshi& bet!een gays and lesbians in the city. According to Eraneta% the "an considered his organi.ation the third one in the country by the ti"e of a&&earance <2444% &. '#>. Again% its establisher ne! about organi.ational &rocesses in other cities but !as autono"ous in co""encing this acti+ity. Malery ;li"o+% an acti+ist fro" the ,rals regional center city 8i.hniy Tagil% facilitated infor"ation e)change a"ong se)ual "inorities in his region. *ince the late 1564s% he has been consistently in+ol+ed hi"self in infor"ation search and &ro"otion of hel& for i"&risoned ho"ose)uals and later <since 1552 till 2444> &ublished a s&ecial ne!sletter for the" <Lasareno 2444a> 21 . *i"ilar acti+ists soon sho!ed the"sel+es u& in T+er7% 8o+osibirs% Barnaul and other centers. ,nfortunately% they usually did not ha+e "uch &ublic +isibility or constant &ossibility to &artici&ate in acti+ities in the center. Three &ersons fro" Barnaul and ;rasnoyars +isited ?osco! and *t. Petersburg in the su""er of 1551 and after returning began their local initiati+es. 8atalia I+ano+a tried to begin a /the"atic0 radio in ;rasnoyars <Essig 1555% &. 9'>% and t!o acti+ists in Barnaul established a regional NGO 6Sie%ia$ I$itiative7 as soon as in 21 In AL$% a"ong other "aterials of the 1552 Conference% ;li"o+7s registration for" for the conference is e&t. 45 1552. They both &artici&ated in the Triangle conference in 1552% but their interests !ere targeted "ainly to!ards anti-AI=* &rogra"s. This 8$:% lead by Menia"in Molno+% is +ery acti+e today in (IMCAI=*-ser+ice &rogra"s and education 22 . Thus% the e"ergence of se)uality "inorities7 organi.ations too &lace in different &arts of the country si"ultaneously. The ca&ital cities had the biggest concentration of these acti+ities% and their co"&arison !ould hel& to discern "ain trends of the co""unity7s de+elo&"ent. It is &ossible to discern three "ain trends in the sha&e of the organi.ations7 acti+ities. The first one% a /radical "olitical trend0% is surely re&resented by the A*?% !hich !as a &roduct of acti+ities of a close% through not closed grou& of coo&erators. They !ere in search of a &ro&er organi.ational for"% !hich !ould be a +ehicle for their &ublic acti+ities. Another discernible trend in the "o+e"ent should be attributed to the acti+ities of grou&s such as the editing collecti+e of 1I*; and /Argo0 Bournals <!ith :rtano+ and =". ;u."in as leaders>% Tchaio+sy Eond in *t. Petersburg% and regional grou&s lie the one gathered in T+er7 by Alesei Minogrado+. These grou&s !ere based on the &re+iously e)isting net!or but they !ere less &olitici.ed and targeted at the urgent needs of the co""unity. They tried to a+oid any o&en confrontation !ith the authorities and &ossibly !ere not ready to "ae full /co"ing out0. The third trend I !ould define as orientation at /"urely cultural0 &roBects% although nobody could dra! shar& boards bet!een culture i"itati+e and &olitical &osition. They !ere "ost characteristic for lesbian organi.ations% lie /?:LLI0 <?osco! Association of Lesbians in Literature and *cience>% or :lga ;rau.e7s &roBects% and +arious s"all short-li+ed grou&s. They intentionally a+oided &oliti.ationF an acti+e coo&eration !ith anti-AI=* and "edicine organi.ations !as not an urgent and i"&ortant issue for the" <since (IMCAI=* issues !ere not so i"&ortant for lesbians>. They concentrated on the establish"ent of co""unicati+e s&ace for &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality. This trend "ay "e na"ed /the line of co""unity7s culture de+elo&"ent0. These three trends should be understood as 22 Its !ebsite@ !!!.sibin.ru. The analogous organi.ation !as officially registered in To"s 24.45.1552F it !as 1egional :rgani.ation Astarta. #4 ideal strategies of &ossible grou& acti+ities of the described &eriod% and used as ty&ology of these acti+ities. It "ay be seen that the struggle for hu"an rights did not ha+e a strong su&&ort in the co""unity at that ti"e <although it !as &roclai"ed as an ai" of their struggle>. A"ong the organi.ations in the ca&itals7% only ;rylia insisted on the necessity to !or o+er the legislation and to co""unicate !ith the officials in order to ha+e adeAuate re&resentation of the ho"ose)uals7 &osition in la! "aing <&erha&s% due to the &ersonal e)&ertise of its founder>. The de+elo&"ent of the co""unity% !ith its <ho"oerotic> culture and facilitation of infor"ation e)change !ere the "ost i"&ortant &ers&ecti+e of !or for the "aBority of the acti+ists% es&ecially after 1552. At that ti"e% the hu"an rights discourse !as not de"anded at all. I can suggest% that in the circu"stances of /de"ocrati.ation eu&horia0 of the early 1554s% !ith its selebration of unbelie+able liberali.ation% securing of /hu"an rights0 see"ed an al"ost sol+ed &roble" for the ne!born% de"ocrati.ed 1ussia. The history of this &eriod reflects "ain features of grou& e"ergence in that ti"e@ 1> As I ha+e already &ointed out% the organi.ations !ere grounded on the basis of s"all co""unities and infor"al net!ors that e)isted before the &eriod of legiti"ation. The fast and si"ultaneous e"ergence of se)ual "inorities7 acti+is"s all o+er the country !ould not ha+e been &ossible !ithout this co""unity. 2> The organi.ations that a&&eared at that ti"e !ere "ade by indi+iduals and e)isted only by their &ersonal efforts. ConseAuently% the leaders could o&enly loo at their registered and <"ore often> non- registered organi.ations as a +ehicle for reali.ation of their o!n &roBects. At the sa"e ti"e% the international conte)t &ro+ided the" !ith considerably easy o&&ortunities to !or on !ith international funds and nets. The organi.ations effecti+ely &ro"oted their founders to ha+e an access to the /!orld L$BT co""unity0. Al"ost all the leading figures of the "o+e"ent laced solid social and cultural ca&ital% but in that situation they could in+ent their o!n ne! social &ractice. This state"ent !on7t relate to e+eryone of the" eAually. Eor e)a"&le% :rtano+ and ;uharsy% authoritati+e leaaders as they !ere% dis&layed co"&arable /"odesty0 in their &olitical clai"s fro" the #1 +ery beginning. They follo!ed another strategy@ they only needed to sociali.e their interests% to get an o&&ortunity to de+elo& their /&referable0 &ractice% but had no reason to beca"e actors of a &ublic &olitical scene. :rtano+ too &art in e"ergence and design of three "ain editions@ Tema <!ith ;alinin>% R9S2 <continued by ="itry ;u."in> and Argo. Although the t!o latter &roBects certainly had &olitical i"&ortance% in ter"s of o&en &erfor"ing gay identity% :rtano+7s "ain ai" !as to de+elo& a ne! ind of edition N an art Bournal for gays rese"bling the sa"&les he had seen abroad 22 . This acti+ity !as ter"inated 24 by the econo"ic crisis of 1556. ;uharsy successfully continued his cultural and legal initiati+es@ ha+ing high social status and cultural and social ca&itals% he !as able not to de&end on financial su&&ort fro" abroad too "uch. These t!o leaders <as !ell as the initiators of that "ay be na"ed /classic0 gay business lie *hatalo+ </Glagol$+ &ublishing house> and Abaturo+ <fa"ous de+elo&er of first gay clubs in ?osco!>> had another strategy of sociali.ation of their acti+ities in fa+or of se)ual "inorities. They a+oided additional &oliti.ation of their acti+ities. It !as interesting that they had both been abroad before and had "utual relations !ith foreign L$BT co""unities. Thus% stage of acAuaintance !ith &ossible "odels of beha+ior of a L$BT "o+e"ent leader !as not so crucially i"&ortant for the" as for /younger0 leaders. 2> In "any cases% it !ould be easy to discern a ga& bet!een the leaders% !ho could afford international tra+els <funded by foreign L$BT funds>% and /"ere0 "e"bers of the co""unity. The Perestroia o&ened ne! o&&ortunities and chances but not e+erybody could use the" eAually. The ne! field of grant-based acti+ities in "utual coo&eration !ith foreign &artners needed ne! techniAues of coo&eration !hich !ere not accessible to &art of the co""unity. Ero" the &ers&ecti+e of a &artici&ant of the "o+e"ent% it see"ed that the se+eral "ain organi.ations and their leaders !ere in constant co"&etition for foreign grants. Their acti+ity did not acAuire full legiti"acy in the co""unity !hich !as outside of the fund-raising acti+ities that !ere "ore or less /nor"al0 for the "anage"ent of these ne! organi.ations. At the sa"e ti"e% the lacs of organi.ational e)&erience 22 (e e+en "anaged an official registration of /Argo0 as /gay erotic Bournal0 in 1554F that registration !as "entioned as a feature of factually high le+el of tolerance to se)ual "inorities a"ong officials in that short &eriod. 24 Another &o&ular gay erotic edition% Partner% disa&&eared at the sa"e ti"e because of the sa"e reason <;irsano+ 2449% &. 444>. #2 lead to the !asting of recei+ed "oney. Perha&s% !e should suggest that in that situation% it !as easier for the young organi.ations to find financial su&&ort than to use it &ro&erly. The stage of &rofessionali.ation of 8$: acti+ity ca"e later% in ti"es then the "ain organi.ations described abo+e !ere o+er. Thus% then the &artici&ants of the co""unity of that ti"e !ould s&ea about the realities of organi.ational &roBects% regrets of the i"&ro&er e)&enditure of "oney often !ould ha+e been heard. 4> ?any organi.ations of that ti"e had si"ilarities in their agenda@ &olitical unification of the co""unity in struggle for decri"inali.ation% infor"ation su&&ort of the co""unity life co"bined !ith &ublic introduction of ne! nor"s of lesbian and gay culture. In 1552% the first ai" !as achie+ed. 8e)t &olitical obBecti+e% !hich !ould continue "obili.e the co""unity to "o+e"ent - struggle against discri"ination R !as not e+en for"ulated in a co""only acce&ted !ay. The tas of infor"ation su&&ort !ould be "ore effecti+ely sol+ed by the Internet. The initial se+ere lac of infor"ation !as not so i"&ortant to the "id-1554s. That7s !hy these acti+ities% nurtured by the Perestroia% had to undergo structural transfor"ation. In this analysis% I do not touch one i"&ortant as&ect of the se)ual "inorities7 co"ing out in the &ost-so+iet 1ussia% !hich should be discussed in details in any historical research of this &eriod. I "ean the set of &roble"s of anti-AI=* acti+ities and &rogra"s. In fact% the e"ergence of AI=* that funda"entally changed the L$BT co""unity e)istence all o+er the !orld Bust in that ti"e <as !ell as hu"anind7s relation to its se)uality in general>% no less influenced the for"s of the "o+e"ent7s self- organi.ation. In the *o+iet ,nion% the first official registration of AI=* ha&&ened on 1 of ?arch 156'% but the state officials !ere not ready to discuss &re+enti+e "easures or to in+ite any ne! "ethods to fight against the e&ide"ic <Allo+a 1566>. In the ,**1% unlie other countries% ho"ose)uals !ere al"ost ne+er "entioned in the discussion of the e&ide"ic% "ainly because they !ere not /recogni.able0 for the &ublic eye in that ti"e. The allegedly /guilty grou&s0 !ere drug addicts <nar(omany3 and &rostitutes. (o!e+er% ho"ose)ual "en-acti+ists &layed an i"&ortant role in distribution of the no!ledge about the disease. These acti+ities relate to the second trend. #2 #ha-te% @3 As-e&ts !" R'ssia$ se4'al mi$!%ities= m!veme$t R'ssia$ se4'al mi$!%ities= m!veme$t a$) $ati!$al -!liti&s If there are no gays in =u"a W1ussian *tate &arlia"entX% the =u"a is not re&resentati+e. Igor ;on <cited by :rtano+> Although% I ha+e &resu&&osed in the &re+ious cha&ter that the first &eriod of the se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent in the &ost-*o+iet 1ussia ca"e to its end in &eriod bet!een 1554-1556% it does not "ae sense to try to define a &recise date of its di"inishing. Laurie Essig taes the disintegration of the Center Triangle in 1559 as such land"ar e+ent% !hereas so"e of "y infor"ants !ould rather "ention the financial crisis in the su""er of 1556. The "o+e"ent !as gradually transfor"ed along !ith the transfor"ation of the !hole social syste". Thus% it !ould "ae sense to co"&are different as&ects of the first &eriod acti+ities !ith these that ha+e a&&eared in the second one and still continue to e)ist no!adays. Lea+ing aside the o+erall transfor"ation of the &ost-*o+iet 1ussian society% I !ill concentrate in this section on the "o+e"ent7s atte"&t to &artici&ate in national &olitics. This &ers&ecti+e of their acti+ity !as the "ost +isible for the citi.ens of the country and% at the sa"e ti"e% forced the co""unity to reflect on its identity and &ublic &resentation. By /-!liti5ati!$0 I "ean transfor"ing a grou& of acti+ists into a &olitical subBect !ho tries to force other &olitical subBects of the country consider its clai"s and so"eho! collaborate. 8ot e+ery grou& of acti+ists !ould need to enter the &olitical field. (o!e+er% so"eti"es the grou& finds it necessary to attract &ublic o&inion to achie+e its basic obBecti+es. *o"eti"es it is &ersonal interest of the grou&7s leader. In general% certain &oliti.ation regularly acco"&anies rises of social acti+ities% so in this &eriod it ha&&ened too. :ne of the ob+ious distinctions bet!een the first and the second &eriod of the "o+e"ent is their relation to <i"aginary and &roBected> inter+ention into state inner &olitics. In its initial &eriod% the #4 "o+e"ent !as "ore &olitici.ed% then in late 1554s. There !ere acti+ists and organi.ations !ho tried to &resent the"sel+es in the &olitical field. This cannot be said about the second &eriod. Belo!% I outline the &olitical acti+ities of the first &eriod. I s&ea about different trends in the "o+e"ents7 self- organi.ation <as they ha+e been characteri.ed in &re+ious section>% !ith a s&ecial attention to the /&olitical0 trend% and co"&are the". Abo+e I ha+e concentrated on the organi.ational &rocess in the co""unity% thus no! I !ould loo at their relation to the &olitical &rocess. In the ?osco! &art of the co""unity% the &oliti.ation !as reinfoced by the re&resentati+es of the /radical0 trend% and it cul"inated in the Center Triangle7s efforts to establish coo&eration !ith &arlia"entary &olitical &arties and social "o+e"ents. The /radicals0 did not ha+e a chance to de+elo& any long-ter" strategy of !oring !ith other &olitical actors or the state a&&aratus. :ne can say that their &olitics !as to construct and declare a &olitical &osition of se)ual "inorities7 co""unity as suc!. The second line in &olitical acti+ity% oriented to!ards coo&eration !ith state &o!er and gradual i"&ro+e"ent of the condition of ho"ose)uals in the society% is re&resented in that &eriod al"ost solely by the ;rylia. Its "ain targets !ere <and !ould be> anti-discri"ination of ho"ose)ulity and resistance to +arious e"erging &roBects of such discri"inatory la!-"aing. The !hole &oliti.ation of the "o+e"ent began as consolidation in the struggle for decriminali)ation. The ai" of non'discrimination !as articulated at the sa"e ti"e% too% but its &ossible legal decisions !ere not strictly defined at that ti"e. *urely% the +ery &ublic a&&earance of &eo&le !ho ca"e out% de"anding for the abolition of the legal &rosecution !as i"&ortant. This &olitical clai" recei+ed its social su&&ort !hile signatures gathering &rocesses. :ne of effects of struggle for decri"inali.ation !as te"&orary unification of lesbian and gay grou&s in their &olitical struggle. In the "o"ent of the article7s re&ose% this &o!erful factor of gathering and coo&eration +anished. The ne)t and &ers&ecti+e ai" of the acti+ities !ould be struggle against discri"ination. But the ne)t ten years !ould not see any rise of social resistance on the side of se)ual "inorities. There !ere se+eral ca"&aigns of signature gathering% in !hich different strata of elites !ere in+ol+ed. The "ost !ell no!n action !as an act of gathering signatures for decri"inali.ation a"ong ## "usicians% organi.ed by underground &erfor"er Mladi"ir Meselin <artistic &seudony"> 2# . Mlad :rtano+ did the sa"e a"ong scientists and acade"ics% and :lga ;rau.e R a"ong "iddle class intelligentsia in LeningradC*t Petersburg. It "ust be noted% that gathering signatures under o&en letters and &rocla"ations !as a ty&ical for" of &olitical &artici&ation during the *o+iet &eriod. It ob+iously had an affir"ati+e effect in constituting elites7 &ositi+e o&inion for the decri"inali.ation. Authoritati+e Bournals and ne!s&a&ers su&&orted this de"and in their &ublications. An o&en letter to the state authorities !ith the de"and to decri"inali.e ho"ose)uality and guarantee the rights of se)ual "inorities !as &ublished in a &o&ular ne!s&a&er 29 in 1565 soon after the establish"ent of A*?. It !as% &ossibly% the first &ublic state"ent of &olitical interest and obBecti+es of the se)ual "inorities% an a&&arent feature of their co"ing out. The infa"ous article 121.1 !as re&osed along !ith the &rocess of refor"ation of the &enal legislation. It !as not at all an ans!er by the state authorities7 to the acti+is"% but as a &art of a routine bureaucratic &rocedure. The ey figure !as &rof. Alesei Ignato+ 2' . Being one of the "ost e)&erienced e)&erts in la!% he !as in+ol+ed into the ne! la!7s draft &re&aration &rocess and used this o&&ortunity to eli"inate the infa"ous article fro" the code. Eor hi"% se)ual beha+ior could not be a subBect for cri"inal la!% for it had nothing co""on !ith a cri"e <unless +iolence !as in+ol+ed>. *ince 1551% he e&t in touch !ith se+eral se)ual "inorities7 acti+ists% ad+ocating their interests !ith the full authority of a distinguished la! e)&ert. In the end of the day% consensual ho"ose)ual acts bet!een adults !ere decri"inali.ed <$essen 1554% ;on 155#% Petro+ 2449>. The decri"inali.ation had been !idely discussed and &rotested in the co""unity% but the +ery action ha&&ened !ithout direct &artici&ation of the "o+e"ent.Although there !ere uncertainties in the legislation about se)ual cri"es% no!n and dis&uted by the e)&erts% the ground &roble" !as totally sol+ed. Eor the "aBority of the co""unity% it !as all they drea"t of. 2# Meselin is a bise)ual inde&endent roc-"usician !ho ca"e out in early 1554s. Although he is not often "entioned in articles about the history of the "o+e"ent% his o&enly Aueer &erfor"ances !ere i"&ortant for the legiti"ation of &ublic Aueerness in 1ussian /inde&endent0 culture in 1554s <;irsano+ 244#% &. 492-96>. 29 In !as /*PI=-Info0 <AI=*-Info>% not an official ne!s&a&er% but the one that !as &o&ular and read all o+er the country <$essen 2442>. `uic de+elo&"ent of "edia s&here along !ith its liberali.ation created a situation in !hich se)ual "inorities e+en did not ha+e to struggle to a&&ear in "ass "edia. 8obody !ould seriously stand against it. 2' Personal infor"ation about hi" <in 1ussian>@ htt&@CCla!.edu.ruC&ersonC&erson.as&3&ersI=v1121295. #9 Eor co"&arison% in ne!born ,raine decri"inali.ation ha&&ened t!o years earlier@ the 14th la! a&&ro+ed by the ne! national go+ern"ent after ,raine beco"e inde&endent% decri"inali.ed ho"ose)uality <mu)!elo)!st#o3. It ha&&ened in =ece"ber% 12% 1551 <Blue Boo 2444>. A great &art of the co""unity distanced itself fro" any o&en &olitical clai"s. Eor e)a"&le such leader as ?ila ,gol7o+a% co-founder of ?:LLI <see"ingly the "ost i"&ortant &urely lesbian grou& of the early 1554s> tried to concentrate on the de+elo&"ent of /lesbian art0 and a+oid &olitical confrontations <Essig 1555% &.'2F Certlich7s inter+ie!>. The "aBority !as satisfied by the decri"inali.ation and thought that the ho"o&hobic attitude of the &o&ulation should be transfor"ed &ri"arily by cultural and social introduction of the +ery idea of non-nor"ati+e se)uality <ho"oerotic> into the life of the country. It "eant that they concentrated on the de+elo&"ent of their &articular acti+ities !ithout any atte"&t to offer co""on &olitical agenda for the !hole co""unity. There !as no &erson !ho !ould try to "ae a &olitical &rogra" based on the se)ual "inorities7 clai"s <&ossibly% included into a broad &olitical agenda>. The only atte"&t !as "ade by 1o"an ;alinin. In 1551% he announced that he !ould be a candidate in Presidential elections fro" the Libertarian Party <established soon before on the basis of 1ussian branch of the Transnational 1adical Party>. In fact% he hardly could &artici&ate in elections because of his age% so it !as Bust a ind of e)tra+agant gesture. This de"onstrati+e /co"ing out0 !as !idely discussed in the national &ress 26 . ,ntil the Eirst gay-&ride in 2449% this case !as% &erha&s% the "ost !ell no!n case of gay7s &olitical &artici&ation <;irsano+ 244#% &. 461-462F La.areno 2444>. *i"ultaneously% a recless inter+ie! !ith ;alinin !as !idely distributed by national "ass-"edia and that &ublication !as e+en discussed in a court as offensi+e. ;alinin and his friends also "anaged the first 1ussian festi+al of se)ual "inorities in the Dune of 1551% !hose initially &roBected "otto !as /Turn 1ed sAuare into &in trianglesO0 As ;on rightly "entioned that "otto reflected not only the courage of the /radicals0 but also their A"erican &artner7s ignorance% and could beca"e a &ure &ro+ocation 25 . 26 :rtano+ re"e"bers that a student of hi"% !ho !as far fro" any &olitics% told hi" she !ould +ote only for ;alinin. In "y inter+ie!% he retold this story including it into his o!n re-e+aluation of ;alinin7s acti+ities of that ti"e. Eor hi"% the student7s utterance !as a sign of the &ublic acno!ledge"ent of ;alinin7s acti+ities. 25 I$L(1C leaflet% 1551 <AL$>. The "otto !as disclai"ed after &rotests of "any authoritati+e acti+ists lie :rtano+ and ;on hi"self <Inter+ie! !ith ;on>. #' *ince 1552% the "ain agent of the &olitical &ositioning beca"e the Center Triangle <since 1552>% !hich gathered together the "ain acti+ists of ?osco! ho"ose)uals7 co""unity. At this &eriod% 1o"an ;alinin left the field of &ublic &olitical acti+ity for his o!n &roBect% the first ?osco! gay club /,nderground0F thus he e"bodied the co""on trend to de-&olitisation and concentration on &ri+ate business enter&rises. This ind of turn is ty&ical for acti+ists of his /generation0. The Center Triangle7s strategy !as to influence the &olitical decision "aing in fields !hich !ere i"&ortant for the co""unity. In 5 of Dune% 1559% they sent at least one letter to *tate =u"a Co""ittee for Wo"en% Ea"ily and Pouth !ith de"and to consider the sa"e-se) fa"ilies in the &roBect of the ne! *tate Ea"ily Code 44 . In the sa"e day% a national conference about L$BT issues had to tae &lace under Triangle7s "anage"ent 41 . The Triangle e+en sent a congratulation letter to ne!ly-elected President of the ,*A Bill Clinton 42 . `uite e)&ectedly% none of the letters !as ans!ered or other!ise co""ented by the authorities. While the Third conference% an unusual ally !as found a"ong :rthodo) Christian &riests. A s"all religious grou& calling itself the 1ussian :rthodo) Catholic Church sent a letter !ith blessing and congratulation to the &artici&ants of the conference 42 . Although this religious grou& !as highly "arginali.ed in :rthodo) Christianity% the act of co""unication &ossibly could be used as a &recedent of coo&eration bet!een se)ual "inoritiesG "o+e"ent and a di+ision of Christian Church. The Center Triangle had a !ide range of acti+ities ai"ed to &osition itself as a &olitical actor. In this acti+ity% it fully de+elo&ed the /&olitical orientation0 of the ?osco! se)ual "inorities7 44 The letter is in AL$% file 9#. It is !ritten there that there !ere about 6 "illions of ho"ose)uals li+ing in the sa"e-se) cou&les in the country. I consider this nu"ber +ery o+eresti"ated% but I cannot say !hether it !as an atte"&t to influence the officials <i. e. conscious disinfor"ation> or the Trangle si"&ly did not care about the factual nu"ber. 41 The infor"ation leaflet is in AL$% file 9#. 42 AL$% file 9#. 42 This /Church0 !as established by ?ihail Anashin and ?anuil Plato+% both of !ho" later !ere accused of &edo&hilia and atte"&ts of ho"ose)ual ra&e <untitled ne!s at htt&@CC!!!.rus.ruCne!sdata.&h&3idarv244#64F last access 21.4#.244'>. There !ere "any ho"ose)uals in its co""unity. According to a !ell-no!n s&ecialist in history of church in 1ussia f. Pao+ ;roto+% this /church0 has not and is not being acno!ledged a"ong other church officials in ?osco!% and did not "irror the :rthodo) church7s &osition at all. It "ust be stated% further% that their &ersonal interests to non- nor"ati+e se)uality% their &ublic action as the heads of the /church0 follo! the sa"e logics of coo&eration bet!een "arginal &ositions !ith &ossible e"ergence of a shared solidarity as a result of the coo&eration. In the letter of the church% a &roBect of an official docu"ent about the church7s relation to the sa"e-se) se)ual relations is "entioned. These &eo&le tired to refra"e inter&retation of their o!n se)ual intentions e+en &acing into religious orthodo)yGs do"ain. #6 co""unity. The first issue of its ne!sletter% /The Bulletin0% included /the o&inions of gay acti+ists about the :ctober 44 e+ents0. As !as "entioned abo+e% A*? !as established by the sa"e &erson that founded fa"ous =e"ocratic ,nion <=*> t!o years before. This "utual coo&eration !ith a leftist <in that &eriod> &olitical "o+e"ent !as an e)ce&tional case% that ha&&ened because of !ar" relation to the se)ual "inorities7 struggle fro" the &art of the =* leader Maleria 8o+od+orsaya. *he &ublicly a&&ro+ed their acti+ities% although did not &artici&ate in the". Another de"ocratic &olitician !ho &ublicly su&&orted the" !as *t.Petersburg &olitician $alina *taro+oito+a 4# . They both !ere e)ce&tional &oliticians !ith highly indi+iduali.ed &olitical &ositions. 8obody else dared to follo! the"@ as the Center /Triangle0 stated in the end of 155#% none of influential &oliticians fro" left and right ca"&s alie agreed to su&&ort the "o+e"ent and include its clai"s into their &olitical &rogra"s 49 . At the sa"e ti"e% the "o+e"ent found Ghel&ersG a"ong radical nationalists. At the sa"e articles "entioned abo+e the Triangle &roclai"ed about negotiations !ith the 8ational-Bolshe+is Party <8BP>% recently found by Ed!ard Li"ono+. Li"ono+ hi"self !as no!n as a reluctant /&o&ulari.er0 of ho"ose)uality in 1ussia due to his fascinating descri&tion of his sa"e-se) ad+entures in 8e! Por in /It7s "e% Eddie0 no+el 4' . Another &olitical leader !ho &ro"ised su&&ort !as Mladi"ir Hhirino+sy% !hose &ersonal relation to ho"ose)uality !as a"biguous for the &ublic <Tuller 1556% &&.152-15#>. At the sa"e ti"e% the !ell-no!n gay Bournalist and &oet Parosla+ ?ogutin &ublished o&enly nationalistic articles 46 % and Hhirino+sy suggested hi" &osition of his &ress-secretary. ?ogutin reBected it. ,ntil the "id-1554s% the 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent failed to find any su&&ort or coo&eration fro" &olitical &arties and "o+e"ents. This "ay be e)&lained% &ri"arily% by co""on 44 The tae-o+er of the state &o!er co""itted by Boris El7tsin at 2-4 of :ctober. 4# Inter+ie! !ith :lga ;rau.e. $alina *atro+oito+a !as one of the "ain 1ussian urban ethnologists. In the late Perestroia% she had beco"e fa"ous in the country as an e)&ert in hu"an rights and in nationalists "o+e"ents. *he !as "urdered in 1556. 49 Mechernya ?os+a% 21. 11. 155#F *e) i &olitia7 <*e) and &olitics> Rin@ P,US Center% t#4% 1554. Both article !ithout authorshi&. In the last one t!o &hotos are &rinted% of =ebryansaya and Li"ono+ res&ecti+ely. 4' It !as e)tre"ely &o&ular in the country in that ti"e. Then /$lagol0 &ublishing house had been established to &ublish gay literature% this no+el !as its first and the "ost successful &roduct <;irsano+% 2449% &. 446-#4> 46 Lie the one@ ?ogutin 155#. This scandalous "en !as threatened by state security ser+ices and finally recei+ed &olitical asylu" in the ,*A. #5 ho"o&hobia of the &olicy "aers and the "o+e"ents7 inability to &resent itself as a &ers&ecti+e &artner !ho !ould hel& !ith "ass "obili.ations. Thus% se+eral leaders decided to find coo&eration on the side of "arginal &olitical grou&s <&arties>% !ho had Bust e"erged and !ere less constrained by co""on /rules of the &olitical ga"e0 in their search for coo&eration 45 . Laurie Essig "inutely describes this /nationalistic0 trend in &olitical self-&ositioning of se+eral leaders of the 1ussian /Aueer co""unity0 <1555% ch. '>. (o!e+er% she does not clarify% to that e)tent the co""unity has been% in fact% i"&acted by these initiati+es of its leaders. I thin she o+eresti"ates the influence of both ?ogutin and =ebryansaya in the co""unity. The o+er!hel"ing "aBority in the co""unity has been and still is intuiti+ely liberal in their &olitical &references. (o!e+er% one of t!e c!aracteristic features of t!e "eriod is t!at t!e "arties and mo#ements !o by t!eir claims s!ould su""ort t!is ?o""ressed$ social grou" o"enly ignored t!em. At the sa"e ti"e% the utraditions0 of hu"an rights su&&ort !as continued by the ;rylia% led al"ost in solitude by Alesandr ;uharsy. *ince its a&&earance% this organi.ation !as "onitoring the la!s. Possibly% the "ain case in !hich the ;rylia7s legal e)&erience and social ca&ital !as to be used to influence on the la!-"aers% ha&&ened in 2442% !hen anti-&ornogra&hy legislation !as "ade "ore strict <and lea+ing &lace for "isinter&retation> and the age of consent <for both se)es> !as raised u& fro" 14 to 19 years. The efforts to influence the "ass o&inion and rise u& a &rotest in elites !ere unsuccessful #4 . A co"&arison of the for"s of the se)ual "inorities7 &resence in &olitics !ith other countries7 e)a"&les sho!s that so"e &ossible "ethods !ere not used. Eor e)a"&le% /outing0 <&roclai"ing that &oliticians !ho are against ho"ose)uality are intended to or actually are secretly engaged in sa"e- se) relations> !as not a&&ro&riated as &olitical "ethod. In countries lie the ,*A% /outing0 of &ro"inent figures% hostile to se)ual "inorities% is a !idely used "ethod of the "o+e"entGs &olitical &osition i"&ro+e"ent <Dohansson and Percy 1554>. It is highly &roble"atic tool in "any as&ects but 45 The latter cannot be said% surely% about Mladi"ir Hhirino+sy% !ho !as and !ould be an absolute uniAue figure in 1ussian &olitical landsca&e R &erfor"ing as "ainstrea" and "arginal charis"atic &oliticain si"ultaneously. #4 A"ong other actions% ;uharsy send a letter to the office of President M. Putin. The docu"ents of the &ole"ics are in@ A"ollo@ 9nformation *ulletin. <2442> t2. 94 it is used. In 1ussia% this &rocedure !as not a&&ro&riated by the co""unity and did not beca"e a "ethod of &olitical acti+ity. The /outing0 entirely !as left entirely to the &ul& &ress% !hich surely !ould do it in its notorious "anner and could only reinforce ho"o&hobia and /ho"ose)ual &anic0 in the society #1 . In the ,*A and other English-s&eaing countries% the early 1554s !ere a &eriod of the /Aueer- nation0 "o+e"ent. In 1ussia% there !ere no traces of this "o+e"ent. :nly ="itry Lyche+7s articles sho! his co""it"ent to!ards conte"&orary discussions in the international co""unity. The ne!s and translations in the gay &ress of that &eriod told e)clusi+ely about /"ainstrea"0 L$BT co""unity life !ith a &re+ailing interest to the e+eryday life of the gay and lesbian co""unities abroad. The actual interests of the co""unity !ere ai"ed to!ards unor"ali.ation7 <as Eoucault &ut it <15'6>>% thus the te)ts &ublished in the editions narrated about /nor"al0 life of se)ual "inorities in the West. Their &olitical &ractices !ere not discussed as &ossible &atterns of acti+ists% e+en if not neglected at all. With the disintegration of Triangle7s core acti+ists grou&% the &eriod of <unsuccessful> &oliti.ation of the "o+e"ent !as finished. In "eant that 1ussian /se)ual "inorities0 did not acAuire any &olitical re&resentation and their clai"s !ere not introduced in the &olitical agenda. The acti+ities de+elo&ed after 1559 follo!ed other strategiesF they did not dare to enter the &olitical field as a res&onsible and acti+e actor. Eor the ne)t ten years% their acti+ity !as de-&olitici.ed. Leaders of the &re+ious &eriod !ere busy !ith their &ri+ate li+es #2 . The econo"ic difficulties of sur+i+al in /Peltsin 1ussia0 !ere "entioned by all the res&ondents of the /elder generation0F they !ere not able to sustain the &re+ious le+el of acti+ity because of the necessity to sur+i+e #2 . This &eriod also beca"e a ti"e of generation change. E)&erience of the &re+ious leaders !as not inherited by ne! acti+ists% !ho established their o!n ne! grou&s and organi.ations. #1 Eor e)a"&le Boris ?oisee+% a fa"ous dancer and &erfor"er% suffered of beco"ing a hero of yello! &ress and turned into a sy"bol of gay life for ho"o&hobic audience. #2 ?asha $essen !ored intensi+ely as Bournalist <$essen% 155'>% =ebryansaya had her o!n s"all business % se+eral *t. Petersburg acti+ists e"igrated etc. #2 To &ro+ide a striing e)a"&le% I can refer to :lga ;rau.e7s obituary for *ergei *cherbao+. *he described in it ho! *ergei tried to re"o+e his na"e fro" his uni+ersity =i&lo"a in order to sell the &a&er out and buy so"e food <;rau.e 244'>. 91 To conclude this cha&ter% I !ill briefly characteri.e the ne! &eriod% !hich &erha&s still continues today. This ne! &eriod had three "ain features@ 1> The gay and lesbian co""unity !as de&ri+ed of &olitical &artici&ation and alienated itself fro" the &ublic sceneF there !ere no bright e+ents or scandalous cases around the co""unity. The se)ual "inorities7 acti+ities began to concentrate in s&ecial &laces% that Bust had a&&eared <clubs% Internet- chats% se"inars #4 >. 2> The transfor"ation of relations in the co""unity caused by fast de+elo&"ent of the Internet !ith its +ariety of o&tion for co""unications and search for /si"ilar &eo&le0@ infor"ation needs of the co""unity as !ell as of the &re+iously e)isted gay and lesbian "edia no! could be satisfied by it &erfectly !ell. 8arto+a% telling "e about the life of the lesbian co""unity% re&eatedly "entioned Internet-sites as the "ain and sufficient source of no!ledge about the ne!s% educational infor"ation and announce"ents. *he &ersonally does not need no! to +isit any lesbian-oriented "eetings or actions because Internet &ro+ides all the infor"ation and co""unication she needs. 2> The gay and lesbian infrastructure began to de+elo& itself according to the ne! logic of &rofessionali.ed 8$: organi.ations and <latterly> social "o+e"ents. Although the first e)&eri"ental discos and club &arties ca"e bac to the +ery beginning of 1554s ## % in the second &art of the 1554s this business beca"e "ore serious and influential@ clubs "ade in that ti"e e)isted till the recent ti"e or still o&erate today. In fact% it !as true ti"e of genuine e"ergence of club culture in 1ussian cities. *&eaing about *t. Petersburg lesbian co""unity after 155#% 8ade.hda 8arto+a describes the &eriod as the ti"e of concentration on /education0. *e"inars and grou& discussions after "o+ie screening beca"e "ain ty&ical and de"anded for" of acti+ity. I thin the struggle !as not often discussed at all. In 1554s% there !as a feeling that &eo&le !ere afraid and ho"o&hobic because they did not no!. 8either did the heterose)ual elites no!. *o% !e should educate &eo&le and thereby nor"ali.e oursel+es !ith that. But about &olitical initiati+esU nobody ne! ho! to organi.e it% these co"&anies% &artici&ation. They still do not no! it !ellU #4 In the AL$ is e&t a collection of &rogra"s and announce"ents of educati+e se"inars about sa"e-se) se)uality and (IMCAI=* &re+ention% organi.ed in the &eriod since 1554. ## The first e)&eri"ental trans+estite &arty !as "anaged in Leningrad as soon as in 1565 by Ti"ur 8o+io+ after his +isiting `ueen =rag sho!s in the ,*A. It !as ai"ed at Leningrad artistic circles <;irsano+ 244#% &&. 261-62>. Clubs and discos if the beginning of 1554s described by Essig% hardly !ith a hint of sy"&athy. 92 =uring that &eriod% lesbianis" !as /nor"ali.ed0 and to a certain e)tent e+en ntegrated into the culture of urban "iddle class young !o"en as an o&tion. 8arto+a harshly critici.es this "ode of sociali.ation of lesbianis" for its lac of critical and sub+ersi+e &otential. As she e)clai"ed ironically% /Uand !e all li+e in cou&lesO A fa"ily is the "ost i"&ortant thing for a lesbianO 8o WreasonsX for fe"inis"O0 Lesbianis" !as successfully% to the e)tent that she s&oe about "iddle-class young urban city lesbians% sociali.ed according to the "odels offered by consu"er society. Its cosiali.ation i"&lied reBection of any fe"inist social critics% and total de&oliticisation. In the early 2444s% the absence of a /real0 co""unity !ith internal grou& solidarity% co""on interests and a re&resentation of these interests% legiti"i.ed in the co""unity% !as notoriously acno!ledged by +arious /the"atic0 !riters and Bournalists. That !as the result of atte"&ts of entering into national &olitics e)ercised by the se)ual "inorities7 acti+ists. They tried to ad+ocate their &olitical interests and establish a &olitical subBect. The coordination of different /trends0 of the "o+e"ent de+elo&"ent !as not achie+edF neither !as coo&eration !ith other &olitical actors established. The Center Triangle !as the last organi.ation of that &eriod !hich had a real chance to accu"ulate recourses% acAuire &ublic attention and &olitici.e the "o+e"ent effecti+ely. After its disintegration% the "o+e"ent lost its &olitical subBecti+ity. Nati!$al t%a)iti!$ a$) i$te%$ati!$al LG;T #!mm'$it, i$ the (%!'- i)e$tit, !" ea%l, R'ssia$ se4'al mi$!%ities= m!veme$t *e)ual "inorities did not a&&ear in the country /out of the blue0 <as ;e+in ?oss had entitled his anthology of 1ussian gay &rose>% e+en for "ass consciousness. (o!e+er% the i"age of se)ual "inorities7 grou&s% their &lace in the cultural syste"% "ore or less acce&table for the &ublic eye% only had to be designed. It !as a &rocess of in+ention of social identity of an e"erging social grou&. This identity could be &resented differently to the social en+iron"ent and to the co""unity itself. There 92 !ere different as&ects in constructing of the identity. Let7s ha+e a loo at the co""unity7s relation to traditions of gay life in 1ussia and abroad. Ero" the one side% the co""unity had to in+ent its &ro&er &lace in !orld of the global L$BT <or /se)ual "inorities0% since the for"er abbre+iation !as not in use in the 1ussian co""unity>. Ero" the other side% they could e)&licitly acno!ledge the history of ho"ose)uality in 1ussia% and try to &resent the"sel+es as an actual continuation of the gay and lesbian life. The references to the traditions of the *il+er Age !ith its habits of non-nor"ati+e se)ual beha+ior a"ong art celebrities <Tchaio+sy and *o&hia Parno !ere a"ong the"> could be "obili.ed as a ind of the co""unity7s cultural ca&ital. ?y res&ondents often could not re"e"ber any s&ecial interest in the international life neither by the"sel+es nor by their friends. They certainly read articles in gay and lesbian edition about it% but they did not e)ercise any s&ecial interest to international e)&erience. At the sa"e ti"e% for "any &artici&ants of the "o+e"ent% their in+ol+e"ent in non-nor"ati+e se)uality based acti+ities &ro+ided an ulti"ate &ossibility to co"e abroad. Eoreign L$BT organi.ations in+ite the". /There !ere Lesbian ga"es Win BerlinXU so nice. We figured out@ !hat ind of s&ort could !e &lay better3 (andball. *o% !e for"ed a !o"en tea". We !ere the last in the line after the co"&etition% but% !ell% !e got to BerlinO0 <inter+ie! !ith 8atalia>. At the sa"e ti"e% the !hole co""unity !as autono"ous in the ideas about itself and its future life. They !ere interested in the West% but its "ost i"&ortant contribution !as in creation of the first organi.ations7 infrastructure. Peo&le beca"e acAuainted !ith life and &ractices of other co""unities. (o!e+er% they did not tae the organi.ational rationality and identity as easily as they% &erha&s% !ere e)&ected to do it by their /Western0 &artners. It is described abo+e% ho! the !ord /gay0 !as a&&ro&riated by the co""unity !ith its connotations to a /+irtual0% i"aginary lesbigay co""unity in ma(ing. This !as% &ossibly% the "ost discernible /!estern0 inno+ation in the grou& identity in the &eriod. Although the Western "issionaries really tried to i"&ort a /!estern0 <"ainly% /A"erican0> !ay of concei+ing the non- 94 nor"ati+e se)uality to this cultural area% they !ere not successful #9 <loo attenti+e /&artici&ant obser+ation0 of their action descri&tion by Essig <1551% &. 121-125>>. It "ay be e)&lained% ho!e+er% by the a+ailability of sufficiently other !ays to &ractice the non-nor"ati+e se)uality in the society <e)actly !hich Essig decided to na"e /Aueer0>. 1ussian se)ual "inorities already had de+elo&ed a /nati+e0 tradition of "anaging the non-nor"ati+e se)ual &references and for"ing the indi+idual and grou& identities based on it. This co""unity had de+elo&ed before the o&enness to the West and could de&end on its o!n e)&erience. If one had a circle of friends to slee& !ith and s&end ti"e together% one did not need to a&&ro&riate anyone7s e)&erience Gfro" outsideG. After the beginning of $lasnost7 e&och signalled by o&ening of the country for foreigners% a considerable interest a"ong foreign acti+ists to the state of things in the ,**1 arose. They tra+eled to study the situation to hel& the co""unity% to organi.e and to share their e)&erience <as did =aniel *hluter <1552>>. When 1ussian se)ual "inorities ca"e out and began to organi.e the"sel+es% they had a strong su&&ort fro" the West. The West &ro+ided "oney and necessary eAui&"ent% !hereas the local acti+ists !ere considerably free in their !ays to use these contributions. A"erican influence !as es&ecially recogni.able in the sha&e of /radical0 trend acti+ities. An organi.ation called the International $ay and Lesbian (u"an 1ights Co""ission <IGLHR#>% ai"ed at su&&orting 1ussian L$BT acti+ists% !as established in California in 1554 by ,* citi.ens !ho used to +isit 1ussia and !anted to ad+ocate for the se)ual "inorities7 struggle there. They &ro"oted ne! leaders of 1ussian co""unity 1o"an ;alinin and Eugenia =ebryansaya to tra+el across the ,*A in 1554% and organi.ed a serial e+ent in ?osco! and *t. Petersburg in August 1551% such as /the"atic0 "o+ies screenings% &ress-conferences and discussions. The ey figure !as A"erican lesbian acti+ist and co-founder of I$L(1C Dulie =orf. Laurie Essig "entioned that the idea of a festi+al !as to beco"e a /1ussian *tone!all0 <1555% &. 122-124>% though she had to ad"it that /1ussian *tone!all0 as an e+ent !orthy !ith co"&arison !ith #9 (ere and belo!% by the /West0 I "ean Western Euro&e and the ,*A. It does not "ae sense to try to discern bet!een the ,*A% $er"any and Erance as the countries to !hich these acti+ists !ere &ri"arily oriented. It de&ended on their o!n circu"stances. I only should "ention that the LeningradC*t. Petersburg lesbian co""unity !as in closer contact !ith $er"any% !hereas se+eral &ersons fro" ?osco! fin a !ay to the ,*A first. But all these territories "ay be gathered under one category of /West0 R that is% ca&italistic 8orth Euro&ean and A"erican countries. 9# the classic e+ent of A"erican gay and lesbian struggle% ne+er occurred <&. 99>. *he critici.es the a&&roach A"ericans e)ercised to 1ussian acti+ities% and directly classifies it as /colonialis"0. The A"ericans felt that they had to introduce the e)&erience of the ,* co""unity into this /nati+e0 <vnai+e> and still unorgani.ed co""unity. In this +ein% Essig "ade a disa&&ointing descri&tion #' of a se"inar !hich too &lace as late as in 1554% the" foreigners tried /to teach0 1ussians ho! to be a gay% a lesbian etc. There really !ere atte"&ts to /e)&ort identities0 there. (o!e+er% !ho !ould recei+e the"3 In "y inter+ie!s I did not find any strong e+idence of influence by /!estern "o+e"ent e)&erience0 in construction of acti+ists7 indi+idual and grou& identities. The foreign organi.ations and /allies0 !ere an indis&ensable source of financial and infor"ation su&&ort% but /1ussians0 did not follo! their &atterns of self-descri&tion. Possibly due to the rich e)&erience of li+ing in a society !here the &ri+ateC&ublic s&here !as constructed in another !ay as it as in the <i"agined> West% these &eo&le already had their o!n &atterns of "aing their e+eryday life <?oss 2442F 8arto+a 2444>. This is !hat Essig tried to conce&tuali.e as a 1ussian /Aueerness0. *traight /&ro&aganda-styled0 actions lie /so+iet *tone!all0 of 1551 could not be acce&ted by local lesbians and gays because of the culture distance and because of non-e)istence of Gidentity-&oliticsG in this society. They ne! that usual inter&retation of these actions !ould be as nothing but a /&ro&aganda0 !ith a negati+e res&onse to follo!. At the sa"e ti"e% a slo! introduction of i"ages of the Western co""unity too &lace - at least% in the real" of language <se"iotics>. As I ha+e "entioned% the na"e /gay0 !as thoroughly a&&ro&riated% and /L$BT0 is also in the &rocess of being ado&ted. I sa! rainbo! flags at the ho"es of at least t!o /old guard0 acti+ists% !hile +isiting the" for inter+ie!s. In 1552 at an anti-AI=* conference% sy"bols of ACT ,P <the &in triangle !ith signature /SilenceAdeat!O0> !ere used% e+en if the &artici&ants did not no! the origin of the sign. :riginally% it !as used by 8e! Por anti-AI=* gay #' Essig% 1555% ch. '. The sa"e se"inar is described by =a+id Tuller <1556% &&. 116-122>. (e !as se&tical about the &ossibilities to /teach0 1ussians ho! to be lesbians% gays "en etc.% too. 99 acti+ists in 1569 and beco"e &o&ular due to actions of ACT ,P <AI=* Coalition to ,nleash Po!er> "o+e"ent in 1566 <Cri"& 1554>. To su""ari.e it% I !ould suggest that in the 1554s% 1ussian se)ual "inorities successfully integrated the"sel+es into the econo"ic <financial> infrastructure of the !orld L$BT co""unity% taing a+ailable &osition of reci&ients% and !ere gradually a&&ro&riating its language. (o!e+er% they did not &resent the"sel+es as an organic &artici&ant of the global "o+e"ent. This global collecti+e identity !as only in the &rocess of introduction !ith consu""ation of Western te)ts and acAuiring no!ledge about se)ual "inorities7 life all o+er the !orld. In the described &eriod% one can hardly find this attitude to the "o+e"ent in the global conte)t. The se&aration bet!een /!e0 and /they0 !as still e&t. Co"ing Westerners !ere not &eers. 8either "y res&ondents !ould thin about the national "o+e"ent and co""unity of that ti"e as local &arts of the global ones. At the sa"e ti"e there !as no resistance for such ideas% I su&&ose they !ere not a&&ro&riated yet% because the collecti+e identity !as already &roduced /indigenously0. :n of the striing features of the "o+e"ent !as its uncertain relation to the tradition. It is no!n ho! i"&ortant traditions are for defining a social sense of belonging to a grou&. If a &ractice or identity "ay be &ro+ed to e)ist for a long &eriod of ti"e% this long history effecti+ely legiti"i.es the". 1eferences to /tradition0 rooted in the &ast also e)&lain the e"ergence of a gi+en &ractice or beha+ioral nor" and &ro+es their necessity. As far as legiti"acy and Bustification are necessary for any society and grou& <identity>% they try to attach the"sel+es to a tradition. This "anaging !ith social and cultural ca&ital is a genuine /in+ention of tradition%0 as Eric (obsba!" characteri.es it <1562>. The 1ussian gay and lesbian co""unity had to &erfor" this /in+ention0 as !ell. :b+iously% it had three o&tions in its search for cultural roots and fra"e!ors@ <1> to enfra"e itself into the global history of ho"ose)uality in the "anner as such uattach"ent0 had been done by A"erican and Euro&ean gay and lesbian co""unities t!o decades before% &resenting the"sel+es a /natural0 continuation of itF <2> to reconstruct the national history of non-nor"ati+e se)uality% <2> to con+ert its 9' o!n subculture de+elo&ed under the *o+iet regi"e fro" /underground0 into "ore or less nor"ali.ed /subculture of se)ual "inorities0 and legali.e it. These three &ers&ecti+es !ere de+elo&ed si"ultaneously. But the a&&roaches to the !ays of resha&ing of the grou& identity +aried. In the follo!ing% I !ill loo at the !ays of their transfor"ation. An interesting difference bet!een ?osco! and *t. Petersburg co""unities7 strategies consisted in their relation to /tradition0. Eor ?osco! grou&s% the history of sa"e-se) se)ual relations in 1ussia !as not a sufficient source of cultural and social ca&ital. The ne!s&a&ers and Bournals &ublished by its re&resentati+es included ite"s about the history% but neither their content nor other te)ts contained references to the &ast as t!eir on tradition. They !ere "uch "ore interested in ne!s fro" the international gay co""unity and infor"ation about for a ne! <i"agined> co""unity in the country that !ould contribute into its self-i"age. They readers !ere eager to no! there !ere "any of the" in the country. In *t. Petersburg% it see"s to "e that fro" the +ery beginning the /inheritance7 !as co"&arably "ore o&enly articulated. The +ery &rocedure of na"ing of the organi.ations tells a lot. The gay literature Bournal Argo% &ublished in ?osco! by ="itry ;u."in% !as intended to e)&lore ho"oerotic the"es and "oti+es in conte"&orary 1ussian literature% but !ithout accentuation of that ho"oerotics. As ="itry ;u."in e)&lained in his introductory note to the first +olu"e of R9S2% /our "ain tas is to &resent% classify and re+ise !ays in !hich ho"ose)uality functions in conte"&orary cultureU. This is not a Bournal for gays% less gay Bournal nor Bournal about gaysU. :ur subBect in the !hole cultural situation in its totality0 <;u."in 155#>. /$ay% sla+ianeO0 in+ented in *t. Petersburg by :lga Hhu and her staff% offered a /continualist0 +ie! of the history of ho"ose)ual culture in 1ussia. It included% a"ong others% an article about the history of lesbianis" in 1ussia and anoher one about conseAuences of the *o+iet &eriod of gay and lesbian "o+e"ents in the country. ,nfortunately% the Bournal !as not de"anded by the co""unity and the editors ga+e u& the !hole idea. Acti+e o&eration the Eond sto&t about 1559% !hen Hhu left for $er"any. 96 The title of the Bournal co"bined the /traditional0 1ussian e)cla"ation /$ey0 <!hich "eant /(urrahO0% /$oO0> !ith an address to 0*la+s0 </*la+iane0>. It sounded rather traditionalistic <su&&osing that the readers !ere "ainly /*la+s0% true 1ussians in their identity>% if it !as not !ritten &artly in Latin letters !ith this ne!-in+ented !ord u$ay7 <$ay% aZfm{d[O>. Thus% by the title of the Bournal% its in+entors7 national identity and their orientation to Western <A"erican> e)&erience and culture !ere si"ultaneously e)&ressed in an ironical "anner. As :lga ;rau.e e)&lained% it !as a title of an article about ho"ose)uals% but the Bournal7s staff lo+ed it and decided to use it. The editor infor"ed his readers in the editor7s "essage@ /the Bournal7s ai" is not &ro&aganda of ho"ose)ualityU but su&&ort of self-consciousness and self-e)&ression of e+ery &ersonality0 <$ay% *la+iane% &.1>. The Bournal !as &resented there as /for literature% art and culturology Wculture studiesX.0 Eor e)a"&le% the first issue containes inside@ a collection of articles about Tchaio+sy7s death <all of the" are translated fro" English>F an article and &oe"s by $ennady Trifono+% !ho still is one of the "ost acno!ledged /gay &oets0 of the elder generation <in the late 15'4s he !as been sentenced by the article 121.1>% his &artici&ation in the Bournal "eant a sy"bolic connection of its conte"&orary <&ost-so+iet> readers !ith the /old guard0 and their heroic sufferingF articles about gay &risoners <this the"e !as &o&ular in these years% cul"inating by the re&ort &ublished by ?asha $essen7s grou& <1554>>% +arious +erses of 1ussian </nati+e0> authors and translations of foreign ho"oerotic stories <(ein. (eger along !ith Cortasar>. The Bournal is concluded !ith an unno!n te)t by ?arina Ts+etae+a. Eoreign "aterials and 0national tradition-grounded0 "aterials are eAually re&resented here% creating a coherent ho"oerotic aesthetics. ,nfortunately% this Bournal% highly +alued by critics and scholars% !as the only sa"&le of such attitude in that &eriod. The first &eriod of intensi+e interest to the Western e)a"&les and e)&erience !as follo!ed by a &eriod of inner de+elo&"ent. 1ussian grou&s did not &olitici.e their actions nor did they a&&ro&riate sy"bols and "ethods of self-&resentation. 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 attitude to the Euro&ean and A"erican grou& identities in that &eriod "ay be best described as a rather distanced. It "ust be "entioned that in late 1554s% the "oney in+est"ents7 flo! decreased also because of self-!ithdra!al 95 of "ain leaders of the co""unity !ho had &ersonal relation shi&s to Western organi.ations and !ho used these contacts as a channel to obtain financial su&&ort <=ebryansaya% :rtano+% Hhu>. The gay &ress that a&&eared in the country by efforts of se+eral enthusiasts !as not consistent in its &resentation of the co""unity7s grou& identity. *o"e editions !ere "ade as /fan.ines0 for a co"&any of friends <such as abo+e"entioned /:"saya Te"a0>% others !ere al"ost &urely infor"ational% and so"e of the"% in addition to ne!s% acAuaintance in+itations and ad+ertise"ents% contained articles about the history of the !orld L$BT "o+e"ent% biogra&hies% and +isual ho"oerotic content. All of the" contained also infor"ation about safe se)% hygiene% and (IMCAI=* &re+ention and education ca"&aigns. It is i"&ortant to note that this !as a ti"e of tre"endous de+elo&"ent of 1usain &ornogra&hic literature and "edia <$essen 155#% $oscilo 155#>. *ince the ti"e of Perestroia% this "aret had been increasing tre"endously. The first &ublications about sa"e-se) se)uality !hich a&&eared in the first &ornogra&hy ne!s&a&ers certainly !ere consu"ed by a broader audience than the first s&eciali.ed /the"atic0 editions. This /consistent front0 of ne! se) "edia created a ne! situation !here se)ual "inorities7 &ress !as one of the a+ailable o&tions. Elena Certlich found her first &iece of infor"ation about ?:LLI in a /&ornogra&hic ne!s&a&er%0 ho! she defined it by herself. /But0% said she% /it !as ti"e then e+eryone used to read &ornogra&hy. E+eryone% there !as such strong interest to it.0 Thus% I can suggest that there !ere t!o i"&ortant social factors of de+elo&"ent of the gay and lesbian &ress@ 1> legali.ation of hidden interest to these "atters in the co""unity% 2> general liberali.ation of "edia along !ith e"ergence of se)uality-related editions. E"erging gay and lesbian &ress contributed to the /se)ual re+olution0% or social construction of se)uality as "atter of &ublic consent and interest% !hich in turn !as caused by Perestroia and Post- &erestroia o&enness. A si"ilar &rocess too &lace in other countries of Eastern Euro&e% there censorshi& of the *o+iet &eriod !as changed by e)tre"e o&enness% unusual in co"&arison !ith &resu"ed Western countries of se)ual freedo" <True 2442>. *oon after the nor"ali.ation of the '4 social en+iron"ent% this /&ublic se)uality0 !as again nor"ali.ed follo!ing e)clusi+ely heterose)ual &atterns <8arto+a 2444a% Morontso+ 2444>. Briefly s&eaing% the 1ussian se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent did not de+elo& a grou& identity of a &artici&ant of global L$BT co""unity. Eoreign organi.ations-&artners !ere used "ainly to obtain financial and technical su&&ort% and these relations !ere hea+ily based on &ersonal relations of the "o+e"ent7s leaders !ith their allies abroad. The co"ing out of the co""unity !as not a result of Western influence but rather a natural effect of transfor"ations in the &ublic s&here. The grou& identity "ainly !as for"ed on the basis of &re-e)isting co""unity subculture rather than due to /i"&orted0 e)a"&les and &atterns. I su&&ose that t!e de'"oliti)ation and t!e loss of community integrity in t!e second "eriod as :at least, "artially3 "redestined by suc! features of t!e first "eriod, as lac( of common "olitical "osition, ea( integration beteen different "ro%ects, and inability to a""ro"riate t!e e&"erience of t!e international community. The organi.ations that could beca"e a real !oring 8$:s !ere closed <again% the ;rylia !as an e)ce&tion>% and the conte"&orary generation of 8$:s did not use e)&erience of the &re+ious generation. Eth!s !" the m!veme$t=s a&tivist3 The &ase !" Ol(a >%a'5e In an anthro&ological research% it is necessary to loo at ho! an indi+idual acts it the fra"e!or of the bigger "o+e"ent% and conseAuently ho! that indi+idual &artici&ates in the reali.ation of the "o+e"ent7s ai"s. Indi+iduals engage the"sel+es in this &rocess in order to achie+e their o!n ai"s and targets. They understand and conce&tuali.e their situation% and de+elo& their o!n strategies in order to achie+e their i"aginary obBecti+es. In this section I "ae an analysis of :lga ;rau.e7s history of &artici&ation in LeningradC*t. Petersburg lesbian and gay "o+e"ent and in se+eral &roBects of that &eriod. I try to discern <1> the genesis of her &ersonal a&&roach to the &roble"s and interests of the "o+e"ent% <2> her esti"ation of her o!n &lace and status in the co""unity <as !ell as of the !hole co""unity as such>% and the '1 &ractical she usually chose to reali.e her ideas about the de+elo&"ent and i"&ro+e"ent of local se)ual "inorities7 co""unity in LeningradC*t. Petersburg and 1ussia in general. I loo also at ho! she has co"bined different cultural traditions and influences in "aing her o!n +ie! at the se)ual "inorities7 life. *he !as one of the ey figures of the LeningradC*t. Petersburg7 co""unity and her !ay of thining about these things influenced the acti+ities that sha&ed the co""unity% therefore% this closer loo hel&s "e to understand ho! one indi+idual could figure out her o!n !ay of &artici&ating in beco"ing of the "o+e"ent. I ground "y analysis &ri"arily on the te)t of "y inter+ie! !ith her 2' A&ril% 244' in ?osco! #6 . There are also different te)ts of inter+ie!s !ith :lga ;rau.e% as !ell as te)ts about her <es&ecially@ ;irsano+ 244#% &. 415-422>. *he also has a &ersonal !ebsite #5 . I use the notion of /ethos0 as the co""on category to describe ho! :lga7s /co"ing out0 as a lesbian and &artici&ation in this co""unity as !ell as her si"ultaneous in+ol+e"ent into &rocesses on inde&endent "usical and &oetical scene both influenced her strategies. ?ar Blasius <1552> tries to find &ro&er conce&tion for lesbian and gay e)istence that !ould not neglect the uniAueness of their &osition in the heterose)ist society% and dis&lays the i"&ortance of their e)&erience for &roduction of Truth in the gi+en society. (e argues for a conce&t that sho!s ho! the s&ecificity of lesbian and gay e)istence is reflected in their &olitical and social &ositions. Blasius introduces the conce&t of /ethos0 as /shared !ay of life through !hich lesbians and gay "en in+ent the"sel+es% recogni.e each other% and establish a relationshi& to the culture in !hich they li+e0 <ibid., &.94#>. It is /a ty&e of e)istence that is the conseAuence of co"ing out R understood as the &rocess of entering into and creating oneself through the field of relationshi&s that constitutes the lesbian and gay co""unity0 <ibid., &. 9#6>. /Ethos0 is a !ay of being in and for the co""unity% in+ented through their &ersonal +oluntary ethical efforts. Co"ing out &roduces the &ossibility for the co""unity% ho!e+er the co""unity is #6 :lga resided in the a&art"ent of the ee&er of AL$% Elena $usyatinsaya% !ho !as abroad at that ti"e. Thus% I had a chance to ha+e se+eral tals !ith her and to obser+e inter&ersonal relations in the /co""unity0 of the archi+e% discussions about other lesbian grou&% etc. I a" rally grateful to :lga for her hos&itality and honesty. All the Auotations in the te)t are fro" this inter+ie! and also fro" shorter tals in the ne)t se+eral days !hile I !as !oring in the AL$. #5 !!!.olgarau.e.ru. :lga ;rau.e7s &ersonal blog@ olgrau.e.li+eBournal.co". '2 being constantly created in these indi+idual and +oluntary efforts to e)ist in this certain !ay. It is not &ossible to /co"e out0 once and for all the ti"e <ibid., &. 9##>. Co"ing out is necessarily crafting /a !ay of life through one7s ho"oeroticis"0 <ibid., &. 9#9>. This !ay of life% &roBected to!ards other co""unity "e"bers <i.e. in relation to ho"oeroticis" of others> is conce&tuali.ed as /ethos0. /Ethos0 is a thoroughly social category% and as far as this co""unity consists of indi+iduals !ho are do"inated and "arginali.ed outside of it% its de+elo&"ent has dee&ly sub+ersi+e &olitical "eaning. It &roble"ati.es the do"ineering regi"e of f and the social truths that su&&ort it% /"ublicly introducing a change in the order of co"&ulsory heterose)uality0 <ibid., &. 994F e"&hasis in the original>. Thus% the conce&t of /ethos0 e)&lains de+elo&"ent of &ersonal res&onsibilities and &ractical nor"s. In the follo!ing% I reconstruct :lga ;rau.e7s history of an acti+e &artici&ant of LeningradC*t. Petersburg se)ual "inorities7 co""unity <lea+ing aside her &ri+ate life and "usical carrier> as the story of beco"ing a lesbian acti+ist in the sense that she did not ha+e a &redestined !ay of acti+ities as such a &erson% but had to in+ent it constantly. Thus% I try to loo at her history as a case of "aing the /lesbian ethos0 in the &articular circu"stances of &ost-*o+iet transfor"ational city society. :lga ;rau.e defines herself &ri"arily as "usician and &oet. *he is also a &rofessional &ainter. *he !as dee&ly in+ol+ed into the underground culture of Leningrad 94 and still !ould be e+en no!adays. I thin% she thoroughly associates herself !ith these underground circles but in a sense counter&oses the" to "ore /"ainstrea"0 "usical and art circles. (er i"age is also organi.ed according to these &atterns of underground% e+en counterculture co""unity. I should ad"it that as a &erson !ho has been sociali.ed in a si"ilar subculture 91 % I can recogni.e these features and !ays of self-&resentation to the surrounding at once. *he has the !abitus of an underground singer and !riter of the *t. Petersburg artist subculture <a /classic0 1ussian subculture>. *he often &erfor"s at s"all &arties in 94 It "ust be "entioned that LeningradC*t.Petersburg al!ays is being considered the genuine cultural ca&ital of the country. In the *o+iet ti"e% its s&ecific cultural en+iron"ent &roduced% a"ong others% se+eral underground subcultures and se+eral influential culture styles. 91 I gre! u& in a &eri&heral region in a younger generation. Thus% /our0 subculture style !as influenced and "odified by the &atterns &roduced and distributed e)actly by :lga ;rau.e7s /nati+e0 circle and by &ersons of hers and the ne)t generation. It does not "ean% of course that I can share her e)&erience% it only "eans that I can recogni.e that she &erfor"s the habitus fairly !ell. Eor "e% it has been &articularly interesting to loo at her beha+ior as such a &erfect &erfor"er of this subcultural style and "anner. '2 &ri+ate flats or s"all clubs% follo!ing to the subcultural tradition of /flat concert0 <(#artirni(% ]mfbg^bd^]> 92 . At the sa"e ti"e% she reBected being categori.ed as a /lesbian &oet.0 As she stated% if a &iece of art belongs to /culture0% it should be interesting to all consu"ers not only for /lesbians0 <as <her co"&arison> /$io+anni7s roo"0 by Da"es Bald!in has been read not only by gays> 92 . Thus% she did not &retend to e"&hasi.e her creati+e !ors as an e)&ression of a /s&ecific0 lesbian culture. At the sa"e ti"e she o&enly s&oe and !rote about ho"oerotic "atters <sa"e-se) lo+e> <;rau.e 244'a>. *he ca"e fro" a fa"ily of intellectuals !ho had been e)iled fro" Leningrad. Although her &arents "anaged to co"e bac to the city% the childhood e)&erience of being one of the o&&ressed and gro!ing u& in se"i-"arginal surrounding al!ays !as crucially i"&ortant for her. In "y inter+ie!% she re&eatedly referred to her origins e)&laining different circu"stances of her life in the *o+iet &eriod. Li+ing in Leningrad% she had an inter"ediary social status@ she had higher education and e+en !as a "e"ber of the Co""unist Party. At the sa"e ti"e% she li+ed a"ong !oring class &eo&le% and used to be e"&loyed in non-&restigious !ors. Although she ne+er !as seriously i"&risoned% the &risoners7 subculture influenced her since her childhood <since the &rison !as and still stays a uni+ersal source of cultural &atterns% beha+ioral traits and language for 1ussian un&ri+ileged social classes% no &erson gro!ing u& a"ong &eo&le of that classes could a+oid or ignore the influence of &rison e)&erience>. At the sa"e ti"e she !as constantly educating herself in +arious hu"anities. Thus% I !ould define her social status as a highly "arginali.ed one. (er national origin <she !as an ethnic $er"an> "ade her +ulnerable to *o+iet bureaucracy% too. *he !as bet!een different social grou&s and classes. At the sa"e ti"e% she !as socially acti+e <she described her acti+ities in the 2omsomol and in +arious artistic organi.ations>. This social acti+ity "ay be inter&reted as tactics of co"&ensation of her social "arginality <v+ulnerability>. 92 It is "uch easier to organi.e the"% but it is !orth "entioning that this "anner of &erfor"ing is /natural0 for her habitus. It is a /classical0 for" of non-co""ercial "usical &erfor"ance in 1ussia% and she still &refers to &erfor" in this !ay. 92 Co"&are !ith ="itry ;u."in7s state"ent Auoted on &. 95. '4 *ince her childhood% as she !ould reconstruct it no!adays% :lga ;rau.e !as a lesbian. /?y history !as a"a.ing% I li+ed !ith "y belo+ed girlfriend and till 2# years old thought I !as the only one of this ind% an e)ce&tion0. Woring as a yard-ee&er% she could be relati+ely at ease in her choice of her !ay of life. At the sa"e ti"e she surely felt the burden of social control. In her "e"oirs <2449>% she described ho! once she had "anaged to forge a &ass&ort she had found in her yard% and "ade a /registration of "arriage0 !ith her girlfriend. At that ti"e she had a long &eriod of li+ing a /closeted life0 in early 15'4s% !hen she gradually "o+ed to understanding of herself as a lesbian but had no &ossibility to get no! "ore about this ty&e of e)istence yet. It !as a &eriod !hen she de+elo&ed her &ersonal routine techniAues of hiding her life. *he described the &eriod of understanding her o!n ho"oerotic intention as trau"atic one. *he drea"t about being a boy in her childhood% because it !as the only +irtual !ay /to "arry0 a girl. :lga beca"e acAuainted !ith the life of the co""unity of &eo&le !ith non-nor"ati+e se)uality !hen she !as 2# years old <about 15''>% already ha+ing the e)&erience of li+ing !ith sa"e-se) lo+er and of "aing her life as "arginal &erson. A lesbian !o"an tried to "ae :lga7s acAuaintance and that &erson ha&&ened to no! different lesbian grou&s in the city. These !ere relati+ely s"all co""unities <so"eti"es their "e"bers could "anage to co-habitate>. In the late 15'4s% :lga entered to the /+irtual0 co""unity of se)ual "inorities <as I characteri.ed it in the section 1.2>. *he continued to &artici&ate in unofficial artistic life and the social net!or of underground culture% but no! she co"bined it !ith another social net!or of /these &eo&le0 <ob+iously% there !as no contradiction in being included in both these net!ors>. Being a lesbian% she shared the co""on e)&erience !ith other ho"ose)ual "en and !o"en. They all had to e)&lore &ossible "ethods of relations !ith the state &o!er. The lesbian girls sa+ed their friends R gays fro" the danger of i"&rison"ent% e+en dared to interru&t into "ilitia arrest. :lga s&oe about this as a co""on &ractice@ ?e@ =id you ha+e this &artnershi&% or coo&eration% in the ti"e of the struggle for decri"inali.ation3 ;rau.e@ E+en before that struggle. Well% ho! did I get the sta"& 94 into "y &ass&ort3 We used to sa+e the guys. :nce% they called "eU Wand they said thatX $risha 94 The /sta"&0 "eans the state registration of "arriage. *he "eans she had been officially "arried. '# Andree+ had been ca&tured and he !as in such-and-such office. I could run into the office% fall onto that $risha and shout lea+e "y "an aloneO If they7d begin to say /he is a faggot0% I cried that they all !ere faggots% nobody fuced better than hi" and so on. I did not care for anything I ne! I had to hel& "y friend and so"eti"es I had the successO In ti"e then Perestroia had began and the "assi+e co"ing out of the co""unity beca"e &ossible% :lga already !as e)&erienced in the co""unity life. (ere I "ay conclude that u& to that ti"e% she had for"ed her /et!os0. This i"&lied attention to the +ulnerable &osition of se)ual "inorities7F necessity to hel& /&eo&le of that ind0 9# F interest in the s&ecificity of ho"oerotic art. As an e)&erienced &artici&ant of +arious infor"al co""unicati+e net!ors% she counted on infor"al% &ersonal relations in different social strata in "anaging her acti+ities and &roBects. All these features of her ethos !ere traceable in her further &ublic acti+ity. Eor :lga% the life of the co""unity !as highly &ersonali.edF by that% I "ean that she thought about the co""unity <i"agined it> as certain set of &ersonalities% fa"iliar and unfa"iliar to her &ersonally. They had difficulties in their sociali.ation. It !as a general e)&erience@ difficulties and search of sur+i+al "ethods. *he !as not interested in big &rogra"s of de+elo&"ent of the !hole co""unity <as se+eral leaders% ob+iously% !ere>F thus% she ne+er &roduced an ideological &roBect. (er &roBects !ere oriented to!ard indi+idual hel& and &ro"otion to suffering indi+iduals. The conce&ts of +ulnerability and danger designed her thining about the co""unity. (er e)&lanation of ho! the se)ual "inorities thought about she dis&lays her attitude to the se) reassign"ent surgery <*1*> sho!n this latent de&iction of the" as +icti"s. *he told "e she ne! a &lenty of cases then !o"en des&erately tried to "ae fe"ale-to-"ale reassign"ent o&eration. (o!e+er% ha+ing the e)&erience of long /adBust"ent0 to her ho"oerotic /orientation0 and li+ing as lesbian% :lga thought the o&eration often !as not a &ro&er solution% because after it the &erson !ould ha+e e+en "ore &roble"s than before. 8ot being against the *1* in &rinci&le% she thought &eo&le 9# :r% rather% to /her &eo&le0 in the "eaning described in section 1.2. '9 <"ainly !o"en> often decided to do it only not being able to understand the"sel+es &ro&erly 99 . Thus% they des&erately needed hel&. WTXhey !ere e)tre"ists% es&ecially those of elder generations. WI"agineX she "aes artificial fertili.ation% gi+es a birth% sooner she suddenly understands she is a "an% so she has the o&eration. There !ere so "any of the". I !on7t say they !ere fools% but e)actly because they !ere dri+en cra.y by their se)ual orientation% they could not understand that !as going !ith the"U And that !as the !or that nobody did to the" W&sychological consultingX. :n the contrary% :lga de+elo&ed her o!n conce&t of ho"ose)uality that hel&ed her to har"oni.e her inner life and to find better !ays of "aing life in the heterose)ist society. *he !as one of co- founders of the Association ;rylia in+ited there as a socially acti+e lesbian to re&resent lesbians7 interests. In the +ery beginning of its acti+ity% the ;rylia &ublished a letter about its intention to hel& ho"ose)uals in a leading ne!s&a&er. *oon after% thousands of letters !ere recei+ed 9' . :lga &artici&ated in their gathering and &reli"inary analysis. *he discerned the &roble" of ?solitude+ as the "ain co""on &roble" !hich should be &aid great attention. *he !as i"&ressed by the nu"ber of des&erate reAuests to hel& to find so"ebody% and decided to organi.e a nation-!ide /acAuaintances ser+ice0 <slu)!ba )na(omst#% as she na"es it> or% "ore &recisely% an infor"ation and co""unicati+e syste" for se)ual "inorities. *he s&oe about this decision as une)&ected for herselfF ne+ertheless% I thin it should be rather /natural0 reali.ation of her ethos. Infor"ation e)change al!ays !as basis of the co""unity% and she Bust syste"ati.ed the infor"ation channels% turning herself into a ind of national "ediu"% or coordinator of it@ /It !as clear the ser+ice of acAuaintances !as necessary% thus I had begun to do itU. I !as !ithout of any hel&. *o"eho! I !as loaded by all this !orU fro" the +ery beginning% because there !as no Internet% nothing at all. I "ade catalogues0. :lga de+elo&ed her o!n co""unicati+e syste". *he co"&leted a nation-!ide database% through !hich &eo&le fro" different regions could find their "ates. Later% about 1552% she e+en used to 99 ;rau.e re&eatedly "entioned the *1* o&erations as a notorious thing. According to Igor ;on% during the *o+iet &eriod these o&erations !ere rare due to +ery co"&licated &rocedure of the &er"it obtaining <the &erson needed to get &ositi+e decision of t!o *tate ?inistries% lea+ing aside all other bureaucratic &rocedures> <;on 2442>. I cannot e)&lain her attitude to *1* as an o&tion /"any0 &eo&le chose. A close friend of ;rau.e% !ho" she often "entioned by +arious occasions% !as a transgender &erson% therefore that /o+eresti"ation0 &ossibly !as grounded in the s&ecificity of her "utual en+iron"ent. :r% rather% *1* o&erations beco"e a &art of her &ersonal "ythology about the co""unity. 9' A short note about this action on 0;rylia07s English !ebsite@ htt&@CC!!!.riliBa.s&.ruC2eng.ht". *ee also@ Essig 1555% &.'9. '' distribute a s&ecial ne!sletter% Probu)!denie </A!aening0>% !hich consisted of the database </catalogue0>% !ith a adding of actual infor"ation about international L$BT co""unity. At the sa"e ti"e% she distanced herself fro" the ;rylia and established the 2lub =esa#isymy(! >!ensc!in </;lub of Inde&endent Wo"en0> about 1552. As she e)&lained% the ;rylia7s &roBects e)&ressed &ri"arily needs of gay co""unity% and she could not acce&t their /co""ercial0 i"&lications. ;uharsy% !ho had another conce&t of gay acti+is" and !as inco"&arably better sociali.ed% tried to de+elo& "ore G!esterni.edG &roBects. The acti+ity of the /;lub0 !as based on charity. They organi.ed hel& for !o"en &risons in *t. Petersburg. This organi.ation !as not e)clusi+ely "ade u& of lesbians. :lga tried to &ro+ide an o&&ortunity to "eet and beca"e closer +ia co-o&eration !ith different !o"en tra&&ed by difficult situation. Besides lesbians% there !ere !o"en - &artici&ants of the War in Afghanistan and single "others 96 . *i"ultaneously% she !ored as a +olunteer on a /hotline tele&hone0 for se)ual "inorities% founded by the ;rylia in coo&eration !ith a "edical institution. Thus% her first acti+ities !ere ai"ed at facilitating infor"ation e)change and hel&ing indi+iduals !ith their sociali.ation &roble"s. The ne)t &ers&ecti+e of her interests% &ro"otion of lesbian ho"oerotic art% !as designed later. :lga did not gi+e u& &erfor"ing her concerts !ith o&enly ho"oerotic songs% she also &ublished her &oe"s in the /$ay% *la+iane0 Bournal. *he also in+ented her o!n /hand-"ade0 fan.ine ArabesBues. *he tried to facilitate the life of the co""unity by hel&ing its &artici&ants% and &layed a role of an artist-"e"ber of the co""unity !ho de+elo&s it also through her art!ors. (o!e+er% the coo&eration bet!een different grou&s in the co""unity !as so !ea that she could not acAuire sufficient hel& fro" any acti+e organi.ation of the city o&erating in the field. As an acti+ist% she !as de"anded by the "o+e"entF nonetheless% the "o+e"ent could not <or !as not ready yet3> &ro+ide not only infrastructure% but e+en indi+idual su&&ort for these acti+ities. Eollo!ing her ethos% she !ored +oluntarily as long as she could. But% at the sa"e ti"e% this "anner of organi.ing her 96 Taing into account into account the +ariety of acti+ities% de+elo&ed by the /;lub0% Laurie Essig7s esti"ation of it as /one-!o"an crusade to "ae her +oice heard0 <1555% &. '6> see"s shallo! and i"&recise. '6 acti+ities !as regular for a &artici&ant of underground artistic life there so "any acti+ities !ere absolutely indi+idual &roBects guaranteed only by these &ersons7 intentions. *he% naturally% trans"itted this style of !or in this ne! e"erging field. The other side of this style !as that she did not enhance that infrastructure of the "o+e"ent. Then she left the "o+e"ent she had not create an institution !oring !ithout her constant &ersonal in+est"ents. Eor a relati+ely long &eriod of ti"e% :lga used to recei+e hel& fro" &eo&le and fro" foreign organi.ations. Clearly% her &ersonal i"age hel&ed her to find finding for concrete action. ?e@ !here did you get the "oney for your &ublisher7s actions3 ;rau.e@ It the beginning I had so"e "oney. *econdly% I used to find donors. They ga+e "e the "oney hand-to-hand. 8ot only foreigners% A"ericans and $er"ans% did it% but our &eo&le% too. I thought I could not s&end the "oney on "yself so I did the deal. The seAuence is i"&ortant@ the acti+ists e)&ected the financial hel& &ri"arily fro" aboard not fro" inside the country. <(o!e+er% it is not clear !hether this :lga7s /our0 !as a reference to the se)ual "inorities or to 1ussian citi.ens in general>. Thus% she counted on the infor"al relations and the /co""unal0 style of &roBects <based on +oluntary !or of close friends and funded by indi+idual hel& of interested &ersonalities>. This style of !or "ade her &roBects +ulnerable to her &ersonal circu"stances as !ell as to her &ersonal relations !ith other &eo&le. At the sa"e ti"e :lga li+ed in e)tre"ely &oor conditions. *he had se+eral tri&s abroad and still acti+ely &artici&ated in the life of the <already international> co""unity% but si"ultaneously had to !or hard to sur+i+e. Essig Auoted ;rau.e7s !ords that her girlfriend and she !ould /s"oe rather than eat because it7s chea&er0 <Essig 1555% &. 24#% n.11'>. *he could de+elo& "ulti&le acti+ities to su&&ort the co""unity% but her li+ing conditions &re+ented her fro" the continuation of it. ,& to 155'% she could not ee& !oring because she /had no "oney at all0. 8either her uniAue database% nor the 2lub !ere acce&ted by any organi.ation in s&ite of her assR thus% results of one leader7s acti+ities !ere not effecti+ely de"anded by other leaders. Being unable to guarantee security of the database% :lga burnt it. In 155'% she broe off any social acti+ities for se+eral years. This infa"ous ending of her &roBects follo!ed the co""on line of the finishing of the first &eriod. *he ne+er tried to establish an 8$:-style organi.ation. <*urely% she !as not the only one in the '5 "o+e"ent !ho did not acce&t this ty&e of organi.ational rationality. *he did not !ant ot beca"e a ind of office cler>. *he follo!ed her ethos and de&ended on the "ethods and strategies co"ing bac to the &eriod of underground life of the *o+iet &eriod. (er last action in that &eriod !as &ro&osing of the !o"en7s organi.ation ,abris in 1559. ,nfortunately% as a "ore or less stable grou&% ,abris e)isted for a +ery short ti"e% but it &layed a role of /"ediator0 bet!een the first and the ne)t &eriods and% corres&ondingly% bet!een /old guard0 and /ne! guard0 generations in the life of the city7s lesbian "o+e"ent. Poung !o"en !ho &artici&ated in ,abris later Boined other grou&s. Today% :lga ;rau.e is an indi+idual inde&endent "usician !ho does not engage herself in such co"&licated social initiati+es. *he is an o&en lesbian that "ay be easily read e+en fro" her a&&earance@ short haircut !ith sha+ed te"&les% three earrings in her right ear and noneb- in her left earU But she reali.es the li"its of such o&enness@ it gi+es an additional &o!er to the surroundings and es&ecially to the &eo&le !ho can e)ercise a &o!er o+er her@ the state officials and e"&loyers. In "y Budge"ent% in "anaging her co"ings out% she follo!s the trinitary "odel of &ersonal life <&ri+ateCse"i-&ri+ateC&ublic> as it has been described by 8arto+a <2444>. 8o!adays% she is a "e"ber of the older generation looing at /the youth0 !ith irony <es&ecially at young girls !ho try to date her>. *ince the hard &eriod in the end of 1554s% she has acce&ted a "ore /indi+iduali.ed0 strategy of &artici&ation in the co""unity life concentrating herself al"ost e)clusi+ely on her o!n creati+e !or. (er &ersonal contribution into the de+elo&"ent of the co""unity consisted not only in that she led se+eral grou&s in the 1554s and influenced conte"&orary leaders of the lesbian co""unity% but also in the &roduction of cultural &atterns of an inde&endent lesbian singer. In this i"age she is "ost no!n no!adays in the co""unity 95 . In this section% I tried to follo! a &ersonal story of one of ey leaders of the se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent of 1554s. I tried to sho! ho! her &ersonal ethos and self-deter"ination as a lesbian acti+ist and an artist si"ultaneously influenced her &ublic acti+ities and ho! these acti+ities !ere sha&ed by the conditions of the &eriod. In a sense% ;rau.e7s e)&erience is uniAueF there is no other 95 Inter+ie!s !ith Irina% Dulia *"irno+a% *asha. 64 lesbian artist of her generation so !idely acno!ledged not only in the co""unity. (o!e+er% her e)&erience sho!s ty&ical "o"ents and thus hel&s to see ho! the "o+e"ent has de+elo&ed itself and disad+antages of that "o+e"ent. #!$&l'si!$ The boo !as begun by an outline of the s&ecific features of the /regi"e of se)uality0 in the *o+iet ,nion. *ince the "iddle of the century it had been e)tre"ely constrained% and the &ublic discourse !as nor"ali.ed in a !ay that &recluded "entioning of any se)uality-related "atters. At the sa"e ti"e% the &o&ulation if the country ca"e through a gradual transfor"ation of se)ual life co"&arable in its features and chronology !ith transfor"ation in Western societies <1otirch 2444>. In the *o+iet &eriod% I thin the discre&ancy bet!een &ublic /silence0 and factual de"and for &ublic access for infor"ation and discussion of se)uality <!hich !as a &art of so+iet regi"e of /double thought0 <1e"ington 1565>> !as one of the reasons for fast transfor"ation of "edia s&here% e"ergence of /se) in "edia0 and te"&orary establish"ent of tolerance for o+ert "anifestations of se)uality. I argue that an underground se)ual "inorities7 co""unity !ith its discernible subculture e)isted already in the late 15'4s. *&eaing about the e"ergence of the "o+e"ent% I ground "yself on the differentiation bet!een /co""unity0 and /"o+e"ent0. To fra"e the de+elo&"ent of the set of acti+ities that I generali.e as /the "o+e"ent0% I offered a chronology !hich hel&ed "e to di+ide it into t!o &eriods. I also discuss in the second cha&ter the na"es !hich !ere used by the co""unity and for the co""unity fro" outside. =uring the *o+iet &eriod% se)uality !as strictly nor"ali.ed along !ith heteronor"ati+e "odels. When the &ublic "o+e"ent of se)ual "inorities e"erged% its first tass !ere decri"inali.ation and establish"ent of &ublicly legiti"i.ed culture of non-nor"ati+e se)uality. The choice of na"es for definition of a grou& is an i"&ortant as&ect of its identity constructing and transfor"ation. I sho! the difference bet!een such ter"s as /se)ual "inority0F /bluesCgaysClesbians0 and other Western ter"s used to na"e and describe the co""unity by itself% or the outsiders. I 61 suggest that introduction of the ter" /gay0 has been a "ean of re-constructing of the co""unity7s grou& identity and is a sign of a &rocess of the identities7 de+elo&"ent. The "o+e"ent de&endend on the broader social transfor"ation !ith its rise in tolerance% a+ailability of foreign contacts% &ossibility of inde&endent citi.en7s organi.ation "aing and general rise in acti+is" in society. A loo at organi.ational history of se+eral organi.ations in ?osco!% LeningradC*t.Petersburg and regional cities sho!s that the &rocess of grou& co"ing out and organi.ation building too &lace all o+er the country. It is &ossible to discern three "ain trends of the organi.ations and grou&s7 &ublic acti+ities@ /radical &olitical0% /de+elo&"ental0 and /cultural0 ones. I sho! ho! they correlate !ith each other% and discuss ho! the &ersonal i"&act of their leaders ha+e sha&ed their de+elo&"ent and chosen for"s of acti+ity. I argue that the organi.ations e"erged in the first &eriod could not effecti+ely re&resent the co""unity in !hich they e"erged. :nly the ?osco!- based Center uTriangle7 &otentially could beco"e a nation-!ide organi.ation for 1ussian se)ual "inorities% had it o+erca"e its organi.ational hardshi&s% thus I discussed its agenda and de+elo&"ent. To e)&lore atte"&ts to &olitici.e the se)ual "inorities7 "o+e"ent and engage into national &olitics "ade "ainly by re&resentati+es of the /radical &olitical0 trend% I discuss their &olitical actions% and unsuccessful search for allies a"ong other &olitical grou&s in the early 1554s. As far as the ai" !as not achie+ed and the se)ual "inorities "o+e"ent did not beco"e a &olitical subBect% it did not ha+e articulated &olitical interests in the second &eriod <late 1554s and early 2444s>. I consider the second &eriod &ro+ed to be the ti"e of gradual /normali)ation0 of se)ual "inorities. The financial and resource hel& fro" abroad !as a crucially i"&ortant factor in the +ery sha&e of the co""unity. I !ould suggest that in 1554s% 1ussian se)ual "inorities successfully integrate the"sel+es into econo"ic <financial> infrastructure of the !orld L$BT co""unity. (o!e+er% the grou& identities of &artici&ants of global L$BT co""unity !ere not a&&ro&riated si"ultaneously% and the "o+e"ent de+elo&ed its grou& identity !ithout strong influence of Western &atterns. I discuss rein+ention of the /national tradition of ho"oerotis"0 by se+eral acti+ists "ainly belonging to the /cultural0 trend. In the last section% I illustrate indi+idual o&tions and reasons to &artici&ate in 62 the "o+e"ent7s de+elo&"ent by e)a"&le of LeningradC*t. Petersburg lesbian acti+ist :lga ;rau.e. I analyse her inter+ie! along !ith other a+ailable "aterials and sho! ho! she had construct her a&&roach to the co""unity7s needs and interests and ho! that a&&roach later defined her acti+is". I also sho! by this e)a"&le relations and connections that e)isted a"ong acti+ists in that &eriod. If you !ant an abstract of the essay% !hich is nothing "ore than Bust an essay% I can su"a"ri.e its "ain idea in the follo!ing abstract@ A"te% a l!$( -e%i!) !" !--%essi!$ !" i$)ivi)'als a$) the ase$&e !" !%(a$i5ati!$s+ a m!veme$t !" se4'al mi$!%ities i$ R'ssia e(a$ i$ 29:93 I a$al,5e the i$itial -e%i!) !" the m!veme$t+ a%('i$( that the -'li& !%(a$i5ati!$s a$) (%!'-s !" the i$itial -e%i!) %eali5e) a(e$)a a$) i$te%ests !" the -%evi!'sl, e4iste) $ati!$-*i)e &!mm'$it,3 O$ the asis !" i$te%vie*s *ith a&tivists al!$( *ith a$al,sis !" the ea%l, (a, a$) lesia$ -%ess I sh!* ma$$e%s !" thei% -'li& sel"--%ese$tati!$+ a(e$)a a$) s-e&i"i&it, !" the lea)e%s= attit')e t! the !%(a$i5ati!$al a&tivit, i$ that -e%i!)3 I )es&%ie the th%ee mai$ -e%s-e&tives that st%'&t'%e) the m!veme$t a$) sh!* )i""e%e$&es et*ee$ the "i%st a$) the se&!$) 0&'%%e$t1 -e%i!) i$ the m!veme$t=s -!st-s!viet hist!%,3 ;esi)es ette% k$!*$ !%(a$i5ati!$s i$ M!s&!* a$) Le$i$(%a)ASt3Pete%s'%(+ simila% (%!'-s a--ea%e) i$ !the% -a%ts !" the &!'$t%, sim'lta$e!'sl,+ that I e4-lai$ as a$ e""e&t !" the )ee- s!&ial a$) -!liti&al t%a$s"!%mati!$ !" the -e%i!)3 I )em!$st%ate als! that attem-ts t! -!liti&i5e the m!veme$t i$ the ea%l, 299Bs *e%e '$s'&&ess"'l+ a$) that the, %es'lte) i$ a )ee- )e--!liti5ati!$ !" the m!veme$t i$ the se&!$) -e%i!)3 I$ the last -a%t+ I !""e% a &ase st'), !" a$ a&tivist=s attit')es a$) *a,s !" !%(a$i5ati!$al a&tivit, i$ ea%l, 299Bs+ *hi&h ill'st%ates h!* these !%(a$i5ati!$s have ee$ estalishe) a$) h!* !$e a&tivist -e%&eive) the '%(e$t aims !" the &!mm'$it,3 I als! sh!* that the R'ssia$ m!veme$t+ i$ (e$e%al+ ha%)l, &ame &l!se t! a--%!-%iati$( a &!lle&tive i)e$tit, as -a%t !" the C(l!al LG;T m!veme$t3C In last fe! sentences I !ant to consider to&ics and Auestions !hich I could not e)&lore in "y setched essay% but !hich should una+oidably be studied to unco+er the !hole history on non- nor"ati+e se)uality in 1ussia and the history of the "o+e"ent in &articular. 1. I ha+e already confessed abo+e on the &age that (IMCAI=* &re+ention and education acti+ity% !hat !as so i"&ortant in constituting the "o+e"ent and in+enting its agenda% al"ost !as not touched in the te)t. This confession is surely a hint for the obBecti+es of future research. 2. Although regular attention has been &aid to the history of 1ussian lesbigay literature% the social function of +arious "eta&hors% sy"bols and signs referring to non-nor"ati+e se)uality is not dee&ly integrated into these studies. The scholarshi& de+elo&ed by &hilologysts still has fe! co""on &oints !ith historical and anthro&ological studies. At the sa"e ti"e% these studies should contribute into 62 dee&er understanding of ho! identity based on non-nor"ati+e se)uality !as being <or% !ould be> &roduced in 1ussian cultural and ci+ili.ation area. What is really to be de+elo&ed here is a co""on fra"e!or in !hich the co"&licated &rocess of that identity e"ergence !ould be e)&lained. Po!er relations% e"bedded into a+ailable language are surely crucial factors in it. I shall not go dee& into the influence of &rison and ar"y subculture on e+eryday 1ussian language &ractices and inter&ersonal relations. (o!e+er% one should do it in order to understand ho! ho"ose)uality is being a&&rehend by the "aBority of the &o&ulation e+en till no!. 2. *&eaing in ter"s of research in history of no!ledge% is !ould be an interesting &ers&ecti+e to study% ho! the *o+iet &enitentiary and "edicine authorities really did identify and e)&lain ho"ose)uality. What ind of "edical sources% besides so+iet boo on &sychiatry they a&&lied in their &ractice% and ho! the in+estigations !ere organi.ed3 *uch inAuiry !ould definitely contribute not only into the L$BT history in 1ussia but into the history of no!ledge in general. Well% there is a lot of !or to do. 64 A--e$)i43 The list !" the i$te%vie*ees 1> Igor ;on <1529>% N the "ost &ro"inent 1ussian researcher in se)ology and sociology of se)uality% acno!ledged also for his efforts in ad+ocating se)ual "inorities7 struggle. <?osco!> 2> Mladisla+ :rtano+ <nicna"e% 15#2>% N gay acti+ist% &artici&ant of the first organi.ations editor and &ublisher of first gay ne!s&a&ers <the Tema> and Bournals <R9S2, Argo>. <?osco!> 2> Elena $usyatinsaya <1549>% director and current ee&er of the ?osco! Archi+e of Lesbians and $ays <AL$>% &artici&ates in the "o+e"ent since early 1554s% teacher of Erench language. <?osco!> 4> Dulia *"irno+a <1595>% +ice-director of AL$% lesbian !riter% &rofessional "anager. <?osco!> #> Elena% <159'>% Bournalist% *"irno+a7s &artner% recently has "o+ed to ?osco!% &rofessional Bournalist. <?osco!> 9> Irina% <15#5>% singer and !riter% recently has "o+ed to ?osco!. <This inter+ie! !as not recorded> <?osco!> '> *+etlana% <15'#>% co"&uter s&ecialist% in the late 1554s edited lesbian fun.ine /:rganic Lady0 <this inter+ie! !as not recorded>. <?osco!> 6> Dulia Tsertlich <&seudony"F 15#2>% lesbian &oet and !riter% acti+ely &artici&ated in the !or of AL$% teacher of social sciences. <?osco!> 5> *asha <15'6>% gay "an% &artici&ated in the co""unity7s life since 2444 <this inter+ie! !as not recorded>. <?osco!> 14> 8ade.hda 8arto+a <15'6>% o&en lesbian% anthro&ologist !ho studied lesbian co""unity% of *t. Petersburg. 11> Alesandr ;uharsy <1545>% o&en gay% leader of the first officially registered se)ual "inorities7 organi.ation the ;rylia <1551 R &resent>% &rofessor% business"an. <*t. Petersburg> 12> 8atalia <1591>% &artici&ant of different !o"en grou&s and organi.ations since 1552% car dri+er. <*t. Petersburg> 12> :lga ;rau.e <15#2>% lesbian% "usician% &oet and artist% one of the "ain leaders of *t. Petersburg se)ual "inorities7 sceneF her story !as es&ecially analy.ed in section 2.2. 6# Lite%at'%e a$) s!'%&es Ada"% Barry =.% Dan Wille" =uy+enda and AndrJ ;rou!el <1555>. $ay and Lesbian ?o+e"ents beyond Borders3 8ational i"&rints of a World!ide ?o+e"ent Rin@ T!e Global <mergence of Gay and ,esbian Politics. =ational 9m"rints of a Corldide Mo#ement. Philadel&hia% Te"&le ,ni+ersity Press. P. 244-'1. Allo+a% Alla <1566>. /Hhi.n7 &ri *PI=e@ goto+y li "y03 <Are !e ready to li+e !ith AI=*3> 4gonyo(% t26% &. 12-1#F a+ailable at@ htt&@CCneuro.net.ruCse)ologyCinfo161.ht"l. 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Se&ual Politics, Se&ual Communities. Chicago% L.@ The ,ni+. of Chicago Press. <2 nd edition>. =enning% Chris <2442>. Polari - htt&@CC!!!.chris-d.netC&olariC <last accessed 4#.11.244'> 69 =uneier% ?itchell <2444>. Sideal(. 8.P.@ Earrar% *traus and $irou). Edge% *i"on <155#>. Cit! friends li(e t!eseE Mar&ism and Gay "olitics. London% Cassel% 155#.F Essig% Laurie <1555>. Queers in Russia@ A Story of Se&, Self and 4t!er. =urha"% 8C@ =ue ,ni+ersity Press. Ir+ine% Danice ? <1559>. A Place in the 1ainbo!@ STheori.ing Lesbian and $ay Culture R in@ *eid"an% *te+en <ed. > Queer T!eory7Sociology. Ca"bridge% :)ford@ Blac!ell. Einifiter% Ada% and Ellen ?icie!ic. <1552>. 1edefining the Political *yste" of the ,**1@ "ass su&&ort for &olitical change. R in@ T!e Amer. Polit. Sc. Re#., #. FG, n.1. P". FH- 'F-1. Eoucault% ?ichel <15'6>. T!e 5istory of Se&uality% +ol. 1. 8.P.@ Pantheon. Eraneta% *onya <2444>. Ro)o#ye flamingo@ .8 sibirs(i(! inetr#$%u <Pin Ela"ingos@ 14 *iberian Inter+ie!s>. 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Argo 1554 t1% 155# t2 =rugoB 1552 1I*; 1551% t1C2F 1552% t2F 155#% t1F 1559% t9 $ay% *la+ianeO 1552% t1 Te"a 1551 t2-4F 1552 t1F 1552 t2-2F 1552 t4 The Center Triangle Infor"ation Bulletin 155#% t2% t2 8ash ?ir 1556% !inter% t4 *hans 1552 t1% 2% 2% 4% #-9 I"&ul7s Bulletin 1552 t1 Ty 1552% t2 Mse Luidi Rsestry 1552% t1-2 ?osco! Archi+e of Lesbians and $ays <ALG>% files 9#% 44 52