By Tom Masters
Perhaps what's most surprising amid the homophobic rhetoric and the new law targeting the "promotion" of gay lifestyles is the fact that St. Petersburg's gay scene has never been more visible or felt less threatened than it does today.
Back to 1992, When Being Gay Was Still a Crime
By Alexander Belenky
It was a long time ago, at the beginning of the 1990s. It was a wild, difficult time, but a time that was of great interest to photographic journalists because entirely new, incredible subjects, previously banned and impossible to cover, were opening up. A Russian History of Homophobia
By Dan Healey
Russian laws against homosexuality have a long history. Orthodox clerics condemned sex between men and youths. They also condemned men who shaved, used make-up, or wore gaudy clothing as devotees of the "sodomitical sin."
Perils of a Gay Law That Lacks Definition
By Dmitri Bartenev
The paradox of the St. Petersburg legal code is that homosexuality is normal and lawful but disseminating information about it is unlawful.
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