Concerning the Soviet society's attitude to sexual minority since 1933 it is possible to allocate four basic periods:

1934-1966 - criminal prosecutions, discrimination and hushing up.

1987-1990 - the beginning of open public discussion of the problem from the scientific and humanitarian point of view by scientists and journalists.

1990-June 1993 - entrance of the sexual minority's representatives on the arena of struggle, moving on the foreground problems of the human rights, transformation of the problem from medical to political, appearance of gay organizations and editions.

From the cancellation of Article 121.1 of the Criminal Code of Russian SFSR till the present time - some improvement of the situation for gays and lesbians, beginning transformations of homosexual underground into gay subculture, struggle against homophobia, for complete liquidation of repressive legislation and for sexual equality.

It is worth to note that the first antihomosexual campaign in the Soviet press was very short, already in the middle of 1930-ths the complete and absolute silence on this topic was established. Homosexualism simply was not mentioned anywhere in any way, having become in literal sense "not named". Conspiracy of silence was distributed even to such academic subjects as phallic cults or antique pederasty.

In 1974 I published in academic magazine Bulletin for Ancient History (No. 3) article "Concept of Friendship in Ancient Greece". The article was especially scientific and the talk in it was not about same-gender love but about evolution of concept and institution of friendship. But to speak about it, not concerning the theme of homoeroticism, is just impossible. Certainly all members of the editorial board perfectly knew about Greek pederasty. Nevertheless two scientific ladies have required that this word as well as homoeroticism was not mentioned at all. Eventually on advice of the Chief Editor professor S.L. Utchenko, who fervently supported the article, there was used euphemism "these specific relations".

In the mass media to speak about "it" was impossible at all, unless with indistinct hints. In the collection of Russian translations of Marcialus' 88 poems, basically those where was mentioned pederasty or oral sex, were skipped. In translations of Arabian poetry love verses, inverted to boys, used to be re-addressed to girls, and so forth.

Gloomy conspiracy of silence strengthened even more the psychological tragedy of Soviet gays: they not only were afraid of prosecutions and blackmail, but could not even develop the adequate self-consciousness to understand who they are.

The medicine hardly helped them. In the Soviet books on sexopathology homosexualism was regarded as dangerous "sexual distortion", illness that is subject of treatment. Even most liberal and educated Soviet sexopathologists and psychiatrists, having supported decriminalization of homosexuality, but rare exceptions, till this day consider it as illness and reproduce in their works the numerous absurds and negative stereotypes of mass consciousness. In the directory on sexopathology homosexualism is defined as "pathological inclination". Except the biological reasons, in opinion of the authors "Strong pathogenic factor, promoting the formation of homosexual inclination, can be a suggestion by the parents and tutors the unfriendly attitude to opposite gender".

In the beginning of 1980-th years to medical homophobia was added pedagogical one. In the first and only USSR's manual on sexual education for the teachers by A. Khripkova and D. Kolesov, issued in circulation in 1 million copies, homosexualism is defined not only as dangerous pathology, but as well as

"an encroachment on normal state in the field of sexual relations... Homosexualism resists not only normal heterosexual sexual relations but also system of cultural, moral achievement of the society. Therefore it deserves condemnation both as the social phenomenon and as the mentality and the line of behavior of the particular person. Preventive maintenance of homosexualism is one of the important tasks of sexual hygiene of a boy, teenager, young man. It consists in preventing influences of all those factors which can set up a boy, teenager, young man against female gender, in the controlling nature of mutual relations with the representatives of their gender, in careful selecting the workers for educational institutions such as boarding-schools".

Soviet gays greedy caught each grain more or less authentic information on their problems. With greatest efforts and risk for themselves they got old works of Freud and foreign books.

Epidemic of AIDS has worsened the situation even more. The first information about it in the Soviet press sounded so: in the USA there appeared an unknown disease, carriers and victims of which are homosexuals, drug-addicts and Puertoricans. Brought up in a spirit of official internationalism, Soviet citizens in any way could not understand - why Puertoricans? All about homosexuals and drug- addicts is obvious - God punishes them for their sins, but why Puertoricans? God cannot be a racist!

It has become even worse later. In 1986 then assistant of the Minister of Public Health Services and Chief Sanitary Doctor of USSR academician of medicine Nikolay Burgasov publicly declared: "In our country there do not exist conditions for mass distribution diseases: homosexualism, as a dangerous sexual distortion, is pursued by the law (Article of RSFSR Criminal Code 121), there is carried out constant work to explain the harm of drugs".

After him the Minister of Public Health Services of RSFSR professor psychiatrist A. Potapov on pages of the same Literaturnaya gazeta, answering questions about drug addiction, on his own initiative "has coordinated" it with homosexualism and also has added: "My colleagues in Paris have told me as in one of parks of the capital a furious crowd killed two homosexuals. Under the very eyes of police". The representative of the most humane profession did not give any appreciation of this event, then have moved on to how in Belgium there limits a pornobusiness, and has meditatively have concluded: "See, how the life forces". Anybody has not noticed abomination of that told at all...

When the AIDS already appeared in USSR, Chiefs of state epidemiological program V.I. Pokrovsky and V.V. Pokrovsky in the public statements accused first of all the homosexuals, having represented them as carriers not only HIV but also any other evil. Also it is impossible to reproach epidemiologists with it: in Soviet medical institutes homosexualism "was not taken". Even on pages of liberal magazine Ogonek, that published the first article about the people sick with AIDS, the first Soviet victim of the terrible disease - homosexual engineer, infected in Africa, - was described with undisguised disgust and condemnation.

Since 1987 the question what homosexualism is and how there should be disposed to gays - whether to consider them as sick criminals or victims of fate - has become widely discussed on pages of mass, especially youth, press (Moskovsky komsomolets, Komsomolskaya pravda, Sobesednik, Molodoy kommunist, Literaturnaya gazeta, Ogonek, Argumenty i fakty, SPID-info, Yunost, Parus, some local newspapers), on radio and TV. Though these publications were rather various on the level and orientation, they had huge importance. From journalistic sketches and published letters of homosexuals, lesbians and their parents the common Soviet people for the first time have begun to learn about broken lives, militia's arbitrariness, judicial reprisals, sexual violence in prisons, camps, in army, at last about tragical inescapable loneliness of people, doomed to live in constant fear and unable to meet similar to themselves. Each such publication caused the whole flow of the inconsistent responses, which the editions at every step did not know what to do with.

What about scientific information the affairs were poor. True, in a manual for the doctors on gender psychohygiene of children by Dmitry Isaev and Viktor Kagan, published in 1986, there was section "Formation of Sexual Orientation", where adolescent and the youth homosexuality was considered not as "sexual distortion" and consequence of "seduction" by the adults, but as an aspect of normal psychosexual development. In the last (1989) edition of my book Psychology of Early Youth (circulation - 800 thousand copies) I for the first time could include some pages about adolescent and youthful homosexuality, emphasizing that "intimate erotic experiences of teenagers and young men are practically outside of sphere of the pedagogical control" and that "behind sexual problems there always stand human problems". In the previous editions of the book (1979, 1980 and 1982) this theme was not mentioned at all. In 1988 came off the press, at last, my Introduction in Sexology, where were stated the modern theories of sexual orientation and also were adduced the data, proving illegitimacy and harmfulness of discrimination homosexuals, etc.

However the specific questions about the situation of homosexuals in USSR, as well as all legal problems, were completely passed over in the book. Without silence and compromises the book just could not be printed in a Soviet publishing house.

Central question in the second half of 1980-ths became a destiny of Article 121 of RSFSR Criminal Code. In professional legal circles the question about it was discussed for a long time. In the textbook of criminal law by M. Shargorodsky and P. Osipova (1973) there was already told:

"In the Soviet legal literature there never were undertaken any attempt to put a stable scientific base under criminal liability for voluntary sex of man with man, and the sole reason, which is usually resulted (moral depravity of the subject and infringement by him the rules of socialist morals), is impossible to admit as reliable, since negative properties of the person cannot form the basis for criminal liabilities, and the immorality of deed is insufficient to announce it criminal.... There are serious doubts in expediency of preservation of the criminal liability for unqualified male homosexual relations".

- But you will not print it!

- I do not know, but we shall try. In any case, there will be a material for discussions.

I urgently have studied the legislation of other countries and written the argued article. It was enthusiastically supported by the medical professors G.S. Vasilchenko and D.N. Isaev, but lawyers were frightened and have transferred the article in the Administrative Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, where they have been told that to raise this question is "out of time". So it all was finished.

For the benefit of decriminalization a lot of arguments was resulted:

1. Discrepancy of the Soviet legislation to norms and principles of international law.
2. Its contradiction to common representations of modern sciences.
3. Reasons of the humanistic kind - because people are not free in a choice of sexual orientation, it is cruel to punish for it.
4. Absence of intrinsic logic in the very legal system, chastising only men's homosexualism.
5. Social damage owing to estrangement of homosexuals from the society and pushing them in filthy underground.
6. Sanitary and hygienic reasons, in particular the difficulties of struggle with venereal diseases.
7. Inevitability of abuses with application of such legislation on the part of law-enforcement bodies.

There were three points of view:

1. To cancel completely the Article 121 and not to mention at all sexual orientation in the Criminal Code because children and adolescents, irrespective of their gender, are protected by other laws;
2. This position was actively supported by lawyers A.N. Ignatov and A.M. Yakovlev, psychoendocrinologist A.I. Belkin and some other scientists.
3. To cancel the criminal liability for homosexual contacts under the mutual consent between the adults, but to keep the second part of the Article 121, concerning children and the minors; that was the position of many people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
4. To leave everything as it was; it was demanded by right nationalistic and some religious organizations.

It is not only about groundlessness and severity of punishment. The Soviet penitentiary system, more than elsewhere, produced sexual violence itself, involving in it new and new victims.

Criminal sexual symbolics, language and rituals everywhere are closely connected to the hierarchical relations of authority, domination and submission, they more or less are stable and universal in all closed men communities. In the criminal environment real or symbolical, conventional (it is enough to say, not knowing their sense at all, certain words or to execute a certain ritual) rape - first of all means establishment or maintenance of the relations of power. The victim, however he had resisted, would lose man advantage and the prestige, and the violator, on the contrary, would raise them. With "change of authority" former leaders, in turn, are being raped, and by that irreversibly are lowered in the hierarchy downwards. So here it is not about sexual orientation and absence of the women at all, but about the social relations of domination both submission, based on rough force, and sign system consecrating them, which is imposed to everybody coming again and is transferred from generation to generation.

The most probable candidates on violation are young prisoners. With medical and sociological research of 246 prisoners, having had homosexual contacts known to camp administration, each second has told that was raped already in the chamber of the preliminary conclusion, 39 percents - on the way into reformatory and 11 percents - in the camp. The majority of these men had no any homosexual experience before, but after rape, made them "lowered", it was no way back for them anymore.

Here is an example, described by Elena Svetlova in the newspaper Moskovsky komsomolets:

"I was told: 'He will not with talk to you'. He has agreed. A short nice lad, who was not spoilt by black robe at all, short haircut almost 'to zero'. Recently he had sixteen. In the confinement - eight months. Term - three years. Was arrested for pocket theft. In reformatory has no any friends. He is absolutely lonely. It would never have entered anybody's head to regale him with mom's cookies or brought home sweets. He would smoke a cigarette himself - nobody would take a puff after him. He is 'lowered'. In investigatory isolator co-cellmen has committed an outrage upon him.

- In a hut (the cell of investigatory isolator on a slang) there was five them, three under Article 117 (rape) and two adults. They had closed the peep-hole. After the third blow I had lost consciousness. Then it happened... What could I do?

- How long were you there?

- Three days and a half.

- Whether couldn't you cry for help, ask to transfer you in another cell?

- No. It's useless. In prison is the 'internal telephone'. In that moment when I was been sending, on prison yards they have cried out about me...

- And how is to you be living here?

- Now it's O.K. They look another way, don't greet. But don't beat, no.

- Have you told about the misfortune yourself?

- No. The chairman of group has told 'We know everything'. They from that 'hut' had found out who would go with me 'by stages' and transferred".

"Look another way", "do not greet" are still trifles. As a rule the "lowered" are given to the full to feel themselves outcasts. Quite ordinarily their bowls are punched, they sit separately, by the last table.

"Not only those get in fags who, having be free, had an inclination to homosexualism (in the camp only passive role is reprehensible), but also in the most various occasions. Sometimes it is enough to have a pretty appearance and a weak character. Let's tell, a group had been brought in bath. All were washed (what the washing there: one tap for a hundred persons, not enough tubs, shower does not work), came into antechamber. The disposing thief is casting a look round all with estimating sight. Deciding. 'You, you and you - remain for cleaning', - and is badly smiling. Lads upon which is the choice, come back in bathroom. In antechamber with roars of laughter bursts a crowd of famous thieves. They are undressing and, blue- gray from all-round tattoos, playing by muscles, passing where just have disappeared our guys. The group is taking away. In the late evening the guys come back with tear-stained faces and in the bunch huddle in a corner. Nobody approaches them.

Their fate is determined.

But even a pretty appearance is not obligatory. About one prisoner - small, ordinary-looking, father of family - it was found out that he at one time served in militia, long time ago (otherwise he would get in a special camp). Ah, cop! They 'lowered' him (raped) and he became the fag of the brigade. After arrival on work in shop he at once used to be taken in a shop lavatory, and therefrom he did not leave all the day anymore. They would come to him continuously and the inquiries were rather various. For day fifteen-twenty persons turned out. In the end of a working day he trudged along hardly alive behind the group...".

Similar though some less rigid system exists also in women's camps, where rough, manlike, and using men's names "koblas" ruled over dependent upon them "pickers". These sexual roles are also irreversible. If men criminals succeeded somehow in breaking in female camp, maximum courage was considered to rape a "kobla", who after that would be obliged to commit suicide.

Administration of prison or camp, even if wishing, practically is powerless to change these relations, preferring to use them in its own purposes. One secret informer recruited by KGB tells that when he had informed the operations representative about committed or preparing act of violation, that one told: "Sasha, well, what difference does it make for us? For us they all are identical, but it is better, certainly, when the raped ones are more, you see, they go to contact to administration sooner and works as trophy horses, because they have nothing to do but to forget all in work and seek the help from 'wolves' from us. All in all, to hell with them, 'cocks'...".

The threat "to fag" was often used by the inspectors and guards of camps to receive from a victim the necessary testimonies or to recruit him. Generally speaking, customs of Soviet prisons and accepted in them rituals, language and the symbols scarcely differ from American or other penitentiary establishments, but the Soviet prisons are considerably less comfortable than western, therefore here it is still more severe and terrible.

From there, from criminal subculture, which penetrated all parts of the Soviet society's life, appropriate customs were distributed in the army too. The "unauthorized relations", "dedovshchina", tyrannical authority "seniors" above recruits, quite often include obvious or latent elements of sexual violence.

Article 121 like the sword of Damocles hung also above these who were not in prisons. Militia and KGB had the lists of all true both suspected homosexuals, using this information with the purpose of blackmail. These lists, certainly, still exist until now.

As same-gender love, in any form, was outside of the law up to the end of 1991 gays and lesbians had no place to communicate as it befits people, to openly meet similar ones to themselves. Certainly, in big cities there always were known places, "cruising places", where they gathered. However fear of an exposure and blackmail made most of such contacts impersonal, anonymous and unitary, deprived of human affection and psychological intimacy.

Extensive and impersonal sex sharply increases the risk of infection with venereal diseases. Under the data of Ukrainian and Byelorussian venerological centers, in 1980-ths formed more than 30 percents of all patients with syphilis, and in Latvia - even over a half. Being afraid of exposure, people avoided to see doctors or did it too late. In Moscow the late terms of hospitalization with syphilis were marked at 84 percents of homosexuals. It is even more difficult to reveal a source of their infection. Under the data of Moscow epidemiologist, general director of Association on Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, professor Konstantin Borisenko, percent of revealing of infection sources of syphilis for homosexual men did not exceed 7,5-10 percents, whereas for the others it makes 50-70 percents.

The street-toilet contacts are dangerous also in other respects. The organized groups of hooligans, sometimes with private support of militia, provoke, blackmail, plunder, severely beat and even kill gays. Thus they hypocritically represent themselves as defenders of public morals, naming their actions "a repair". As homosexuals are afraid to inform militia about such cases, the large part of crimes against them remains unpunished, and then militia officers accuse them that they are nurseries of criminality. Murders with the purpose of robbery at every step are represented as a consequence of ostensibly characteristic for homosexuals a special pathological jealousy and etc.

When homosexuality is discussed in Russia, predominantly male homosexuality is meant, it is not until recently that lesbianism has started to be featured in mass media. But lesbians' situation is not in the least better, though their relations were not legally punished by the article 121, and the closeness between women does not generally catch the eye. However, a girl who is aware of her psychosexual singularity more trouble finding a partner than a young man. And the society's attitude to them is as much irreconcilable: mocking, badgering, expulsion from universities, firing from work, threats to take children away. Here's what a 23-year old lesbian writes: "How did this get started?.. Probably this has always been a part of me. As a child I was friendly with boys, played hockey, football, military games. Later I used to fall for my girlfriends, young women. I suffered a lot, but could not open up to anyone. I often had dreams of the adventure or erotic nature where I fought to defend my lady of the heart. Then I thought that this is something of which I'd grow out in time. But I did not. The greatest difficulty was to admit this to myself. In an attempt to convince myself of the opposite, I dated men, I even had an experience of sexual intimacy. But that feeling of delight, that high that I experienced next to women, was lacking. I felt ashamed after such meetings, I just hated myself and felt like a slut. I discontinued these experiments".

Special problems arise when a lesbian has children. The thought that gays and lesbians can be worthy parents, would seem absurd in Russia.

Till the late 80s Soviet gays were just victims capable only of complaining of their fate and praying for mercy. But there were certain exclusions. In 1984 about 30 young people formed a group of gays and lesbians in Leningrad, created a "gay laboratory", got in touch with the Finnish association of gays and lesbians, sent the information on the miserable situation of Soviet gays to the West and started working in the sphere of AIDS prevention, which official medicine shunned.

But soon the group got into the KGB's field of vision. Political and ideological accusations as well as threats and repression followed, which caused some members to emigrate and others - to lapse into silence.

In the first years of glasnost the problems of sexual minorities were discussed exclusively by "experts", in the key of detached compassion. But gradually victims started feeling like fighters . Of a big benefit to their self-awareness were foreign gay organizations and press.

On May 28-30, 1990 Tallin hosted the first on the territory of the USSR International scientific conference on the situation of sexual minorities and the changing attitude toward same-sex love in Europe of the 20th century. It was initiated by the Institute of History of the Estonian Academy of Science, with support from a number of gay communities from abroad. Among the participants were some eminent scholars from the West. The conference was conducive to the growth of Soviet gays' and lesbians' self-awareness and clarification of their social and psychological identity. Within the framework of the Soviet-Finnish program of studying sexual minorities, the first comparative survey was launched which was intended to look into the situation of sexual minorities in Finland and Estonia with the help of questionnaires (those were also spread in Russia).

Later in 1989 the first Association of Sexual Minorities (Union of Lesbians and Homosexuals) was started in Moscow. The ASM's program emphasized that it was "primarily a human rights organization whose goal is complete equality of people of different sexual orientation". The major challenges of ASM were: struggle for abrogation of the article 121 (which punished for homosexual contacts), alteration of society's attitude toward sexual minorities (eradication of prejudices to be more precise) making use of the possibilities of the official press, social rehabilitation of the AIDS-infected, publication of the "Tema" (Theme) paper and other materials, helping people find friends of like mind, education in the sphere of safe sex and gathering information on prosecution of homosexuals. There was no formal membership in the ASM, anyone over 18 could join it.

The "SPID-info" (AIDS-info) journal published the ASM's appeal to the President of the USSR and Supreme Soviets of the USSR and union republics, signed by V. Ortanov, K. Evgeniev and A. Zubov, to abrogate the discriminative articles of the criminal code and provide amnesty to those who had been charged under these articles. At the same time they announced their "unconditional condemnation of any actions causing depravation of minors, as well as violence, regardless of its form and victim's gender". "We are not into proselytizing, but we are such as we were created by nature. Help us drop our fear. We are part of your life and your spirituality. This is neither our choice nor yours".

An evidence of the change that had taken place in their self-awareness became the fact that instead of the medical and hence intrinsically discriminative term "homosexuals" they started calling themselves, following the Western suit, gays. This word implies not just sexual orientation but also a certain type of self-awareness, belonging to a certain subculture, in which they can take pride.

Sadly, in the post-Soviet society all social movements start to immediately split into groups and fractions which are not willing to work concurrently. Gays were not an exclusion, and right after the publication of the second pilot issue of the "Tema" paper, the ASM got split up. Those who signed the presented above declaration, left ASM, which in fact ceased to exist, and on its place came into being the Moscow Union of Lesbians and Homosexuals (MULH) headed be Euginia Debrianska and 24-year old Roman Kalinin who became the individual publisher and editor of the "Tema". In October 1990 the paper was officially registered by the Moscow Soviet as Kalinin's private publication.

Launching of ASM and official registration of the "Tema" opened up lots of opportunities for gays. This event was enthusiastically greeted in the West. The fact that fearless persons openly spoke out demanding not condescension but civil rights, was an important moral initiative, which met with support from international human rights organizations, in particular from the San Francisco-based International Committee on Human Rights for Homosexuals and Lesbians founded in 1991 and headed by Juliette Dorf. But what means were to be used to carry the struggle on?

Leaders of MULH, having enlisted the support of gay organizations, decided to act by means of street meetings and marches under scathing slogans meant rather for Western correspondents than for the Soviets. Such tactics were to the liking of radical American gay activists. Kalinin was a big success in the States, being welcomed by San Francisco mayor; the date of his arrival was announced a day of Roman Kalinin, and he was given promises to flood the USSR with free condoms.

For the funds raised in Moscow and Leningrad in the summer of 1991 by the "Theme" International Organization, the international symposium on homosexual-lesbian rights and on the AIDS-struggle, was held. Plenary sessions took place in big conference halls. At the same time a few gay and lesbian films were openly screened in the USSR. Apart from plenary sessions, a number of symposiums were organized where the specific problems of sexual minorities' life, their health and culture, were discussed. At the last moment the participants wisely rejected the idea of the march across the Red Square under the slogan: "Let us turn Red Squares into Pink Triangles" (neither Americans nor their Moscow partners knew that the Red Square is not a communist symbol, but an ancient name; such a slogan would sound downright provocative and insulting to a Russian person) and so settled for a much more decent manifestation by the Moscow Soviet and distribution of free condoms.

Sadly, the activity of Roman Kalinin and his like-minded friends was marked with general features of the post-Soviet political life: lack of political experience, extremism and refusal to face realities. Demands made by Libertarian party (which integrated MULH) of legalization of sexual minorities, prostitution and drugs, were - taken separately - quite serious, but taken lumped together and not supported by arguments (and only unsubstantiated slogans made it into the press) just fortified the stereotype that homosexuality, prostitution and drug abuse are the things of the same nature and that "these people" are not to be given leniency.

In the fall of 1990 the communist and right-wing press kicked up a big row in the wake of the Kalinin's interview run in the Moscow paper "Karetny Riad" where it was stated that ASM advocates the rights not only of homosexuals and lesbians, but also those of pedophiles, zoophiles and necrophiles: "I do not get engaged with children myself, but the Associations' stand is as follows: the article punishing for the deprevation of minors should be removed from the Criminal Code. We are against violence, but if everything is done with mutual consent, this is a norm at any age, in any combination of genders. Where do they take them? Well, there are special channels: a child costs 3 to 5 thousand. A pedophile gets the most exquisite pleasure, for a child is a fine body and soul, unstained by anything.

- And what about corpses for necrophiles?

- No problems with those either. Some necrophiles work in morgues, on ambulances, in cemeteries. Others make arrangements with them.

Whether it was said exactly this way, or the tipsy company decided to mock at the young, non-professional journalist - is not that important. This sensational report of the unknown paper was immediately taken up by the TASS agency and the whole of the communist and right-wing press - "Sovietskaya Rossiya", "Pravda", "Semiya"... The propaganda campaign was aimed against the democratic Moscow Soviet, which was fiercely accused of encouraging sexual perversions and porno. Some industrial enterprises, located far from Moscow, organized rallies of protest, adopted resolutions demanding to immediately hold reelection of the new Moscow Soviet and, at least, to absolutely outlaw the "Tema" paper and the Association of sexual minorities. Parents took alarm: criminality in the country was on the rise and they were afraid of letting their children out of home - and here pedophilia and kid trade was being openly advocated.

Democratic press justly assessed the TASS' report and other similar publications as a deliberate political provocation. A paper war broke out. The Moscow Soviet brought a lawsuit against the "Karetny Riad" paper, proving that the program of the "Tema", registered by it, had not included anything of the kind (as well as there had not been anything like this in its issues published before the registration); and as to the ASM, the Moscow Soviet had not registered it at all and thus could not be held responsible for it. The court recognized the claims of the Moscow Soviet justified and obliged the "Karetny Riad" to apologize in the printed form. Fearful of a new lawsuit, they did apologize, but having nonetheless repeated its attack on the "Tema" and sexual minorities. So the Moscow Soviet did upheld its honor.

Yet the moral damage inflicted upon the reputation of sexual minorities by the row, was not in the least reduced. In the course of the printed polemics, the both sides tried to first of all distance themselves form the unpopular "sexual minorities". Communist press accused the Moscow Soviet in encouraging them, while the Moscow Soviet argued that it was the communist press that made publicity for homosexuals with its clamor. And it was only the influential weekly of large circulation, "Argumenty I Facty", that published at that time my article that spoke up for the principal lawfulness, rightfulness and necessity of the legal existence of similar associations, regardless even of the extremist escapades of their leaders, which by and large were typical of the Soviet political life. But what was just one article on the background of the massive propaganda campaign among disturbed people?

The late April of 1991 saw the continuation of the political activity of Roman Kalinin: it was announced that he had decided to run for presidency - which he could not do even due to his young age. From this awkward situation Kalinin had to find an equally awkward way out.

Other leaders of the gay movement (Vladislav Ortanov, Olga Zhuk, Alexander Kuharsky) disapproved of these actions which could have been used by conservative local authorities as a pretext to turn down other, more constructive, gay organizations and publications.

After the USSR break up, some republics (Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Armenia) repealed anti-homosexual laws on their territories. Yet all of them supplemented their codes with judicially and sexologically obscure articles aimed against "perverted forms of sexual passion satisfaction".

In Russia the process of decriminalization of homosexuality was dragged out till May 27, 1993, when the Russian press published the law on the introduction of certain changes in the Criminal Code of Russian Federation, signed by president Yeltsin April 29, 1993.

It was done predominantly under the pressure from the international public opinion - to facilitate Russia's enrollment in the European Council - and it was performed on the quite, without wide notification and explanation in the mass media.

The first project of the Ministry of Justice, published in the fall of 1992, "made up" for the repeal of the article 121 with the introduction of the new article 132 punishing for homosexual rape - which for the first time in the history of the world criminal legislation envisaged penalty for lesbianism as well. As a whole the project was clearly lacking in logic. In its new variant, drafted in deep secrecy from both public and specialists, and adopted by the Parliament, lesbianism is not mentioned, but there is the article 142 "Forceful sodomy" punishing for "sodomy with the use of physical violence, threats to subject a victim or his family to it, as well as taking advantage of a victim's helplessness".

In my letter to the Committee of the legislation on October 24, 1994 I noted that such a decision is not pertinent. First off, any sexual violence is to be punished, regardless of a victim's gender, and so a separate article is not needed. Secondly, mentioning of sodomy and non-mentioning of violent lesbian acts runs counter to the principle of the equality of sexes. Thirdly, the term "sodomy" traditionally implies only anal intromission, though a violent oral act is not any more better. Since the matter concerns the crime against a person, of significance is the fact of sexual violence itself rather than a victim's gender or a method of raping. It is this moment that distinguishes modern legislation from archaic. Yet I strongly doubted this point of view would meet with our legislators' understanding. The problem is not only in their sexological ignorance, but also in the fact that homosexuality is a very convenient object for political games.

However radical are the changes in the legislation, the real position of sexual minorities not so much depends on the law's norm as on the state of social psychology. Homophobia, irrational fear of homosexuality and hatred toward its representatives is one of the major problems of the Russian sexual culture of our days. The term "homophobia" is utterly irrelevant, as it is associated with individual psychopathology, a person's own suppressed or latent homosexuality, neuroses, the sense of one's sexual worthlessness, etc. Such phenomena are quite real but not necessary. Fear of and hatred toward homosexuals is first of all the element of culture and public consciousness, one of the many prejudices and hostile stereotypes - such as racism, sexism and anti-Semitism, and it can be understood solely in this social and psychological context. Individual preferences in many cases derive from cultural norms and social interests.

As was shown by cross-cultural surveys, the level of homophobia in different human societies depends on a few factors. First, on the general level of social and cultural tolerance. Intolerance to diversity and authoritarianism are incompatible with sexual (and not only) pluralism. From the point of view of totalitarian consciousness, a homosexual is dangerous by just being a dissident who is different from others. A society which tries to control the width of trousers or length of hair cannot be sexually tolerant. Second, homophobia is a function of sexual uneasiness. The more antisexual is a culture the greater number of sexual taboos and fears it harbors. A person who regards even his own heterosexuality as shameful and dirty is not able of accepting same-gender sex. In this - as well as in the previous aspect - the USSR was the ultimate, extreme case. Third, homophobia is closely related to sexism, sexual chauvinism. Its major social and historic function is maintaining the stability of the gender stratification system based on the male hegemony and dominance. Compulsory, obligatory heterosexuality is aimed at the protection of the institution of marriage and patriarchal relations; women are second-rate beings whose primal and only function is to bear children. In the light of such an ideology an independent woman is as much a sexual perversion as same-sex love. Besides, the cult of aggressive masculinity aids in upholding hierarchic relations in the male community itself: a tender, nonaggressive man or a powerful, independent woman is a challenge to the dominant stereotype. Even many sex-tolerant societies set great store by sexual positions: there is an "active" homosexual partner who inserts his penis and thus saves his male dignity, and a "passive" one who "gets penetrated" and thus loses his dignity. Hatred to homos is a means of affirming men's solidarity, especially among teenagers, who use it to fortify their position in their own problematic sexuality. This is the reason why women normally display greater tolerance toward homosexuals than men. Fourth, of great significance is the character and attitude of the dominant ideology, especially that of church, to sex. Antisexual religions, such as Judaism and Christianity, are usually less tolerant toward homosexuals than prosexual ones. Fifth, an extremely important factor - a general level of education and especially of sexual culture of population. Education per se does not rid one of prejudices and bias, but facilitates the process of overcoming them.

Lastly, there are situational, social and political factors. Like other social fears and forms of collective hatred, homophobia gets aggravated in the times of social crises, when a visible enemy or scapegoat is called for.

The level of tolerance toward homosexuality is historically changeable and varies from country to country. According to data of the comparative studies conducted in 1980/82 by the well-known American sociologist and politologist Ronald Inglehart, the most tolerant of the countries was Holland, followed by Danmark and Germany (to the concept that "homosexuality is always wrong" subscribed respectively 22,34 and 42 per cent of the polled population), and the least tolerant - Mexico and USA (73 and 65 % of such answers). According to Inglehart, young people (ages 18 to 24) in any society display greater degree of tolerance than elders; compared to those over 65 they are twice as tolerant. This is accounted for by their greater general tolerance and level of education; besides, they are more self-confident and allow more variations in behavior and mentality of other people. The same phenomenon is observed in Russia.

The Soviet society was notable for its utter intolerance toward anything different and unusual, even absolutely innocent. Homosexuals are the most stigmatized group of the population. According to the All-Union poll held in November of 1989 "How are homosexuals to be treated?", 33 per cent of respondents answered that they "should be done away with", 30 % spoke up for their "isolation", 10 % - for "leaving them alone", and as few as 6 % - for "helping them". The attitude toward them was markedly worse than toward prostitutes, junkies, those with AIDS, tramps, alcoholics and rockers (mysterious and hence dangerous). The answers strongly depended on the level of education (the idea of "doing away with homos" was endorsed by 38 % of people with incomplete secondary education and 22 % - with higher education) and age (the least tolerant proved to be the people under 50), but practically were not related to gender. In the social sphere the highest level of homophobia was displayed by pensioners, housewives and servicemen, while the lowest one - by businessmen, who were followed by scientific workers and intelligentsia (20 % spoke up for "doing away with" and 34 - for "isolation"). Homosexuality did not seem to be related to property status, but there was a correspondence with the presence of a personal library: those with large home libraries sound far more liberal than those who do not have one. As to the regional representation, the greatest degree of homophobia was observed in Uzbekistan (54 % for "doing away with") followed by Georgia and Armenia (43 %), while Litva and Moscow proved to be the most liberal (26 % for "doing away with"). In the light of religious belonging, Moslems look less tolerant than Christians. A lot depends on the size of a locality: Moscovites are more tolerant than residents of the outlying districts and villages. Hostility toward homosexuals was revealed by other sociologic surveys too.

The poll held in July of 1990 by the Institute of youth among the population of 16 regions of the Russian Federation (1500 people were polled, among them 26 % were under 30) again showed that homosexuals are the most hated group: 62 % strongly condemn them, 20 % display neutral attitude, 0,6 % view them positively and 8 % declined the question.

People even have a hard time to discuss such matters. Analyzing the data, sociologists singled out two extreme groups of the polled: repressively rigid and tolerant ones. These groups differ almost in everything, including the attitude toward homosexuals: the former speak up for their liquidation, while the latter are for rendering them social help. The only point where their views coincide is that the problem of homosexual relations is not (or undesirable) to be discussed in the press.

Back in 1990 the Institute of sociology and the Center of human research polled the population of the European part of the USSR (4309 people in all) concerning their attitude (by grade scale from 1 to 11, from "abominable" to "adorable") toward different ethnic and political groups, including homosexuals. Gays took the third place as the most disliked after "neo-fascists" and "stalinists", the extreme rating ("abominable") was picked by 68,7 % of men and 69,4 % of women. As to age, the least tolerant were the people aged from 41 to 50 (75,2 % of the most negative responses) and from 31 to 40 (72 %). Education not only fails to take the edge off homophobia, but even deepens it: the highest level of hostility (76,7 %) was displayed by the people with the high specialized education, followed by those with the higher education (70,4 %).

A research held in 1992 with the participation of scholars-politologists of the Houston University, James Gibson and Ray Duch, which embraced the entire territory of the former USSR, gave similar results: homosexuals hold the second place after neo-fascists as the most disliked group, they are "very much disliked" by 58,2 % of men and 58,6 % of women. Yet age parameters of homophobia are somewhat different here: the least tolerant are the people born between 1921 and 1960, while the responds of the younger generation are by 4-6 % more tolerant.

Despite the generally negative attitude toward homosexuals, certain changes are definitely taking place in the mass consciousness. A comparative poll, held in 1994, revealed a certain increase of Russians' tolerance compared to 1989. Probably it is most notable with regard to gays. They not only yielded the palm of enmity to junkies, but the general attitude toward them has noticeably improved. The number of those willing to "do away with them" reduced from 31 % in 1989 (here and below are given the data pertaining only to Russia, not the USSR as above) to 22 % in 1994. "Isolation" was favored by 23 % instead of 32; 8 % (instead of 6 ) spoke for "helping them", and 29 % (instead of 12) - for leaving them alone: growth by 2,5 times.

Still the issue of sexual minorities remains to be utterly complicated and politically acute.

After the August (1991) putsch flopped and the article 121 was repealed, the position of sexual minorities turned to the better. They became visible and audible, and sometimes - respected. Same-sex love and its adepts, who had been recently unnamed, became a trendy topic of the mass media and arts.

The most sought-after director in Moscow is an open gay Roman Viktiuk. His plays are always sold-out and attended not by gays only. This is just a nice theater. In Petersburg, renowned dancer Valery Mikhailov gave birth to an exclusively outstanding all-men ballet. Well-known choreographer Boris Eifman staged in his theater of modern ballet a performance devoted to the life of great Tchaikovsky which was highly acclaimed by the press, while formerly even a slight intimation concerning the composer's sexual complications had been viewed as blasphemy. Problems of gays' and lesbians' life are brought up openly on the TV and in popular papers. Cinemas and television run classic films by Jarmen, Visconti and others. Homosexual allusions cease to be as shocking as before. General readership for the first time discovered poetry of Mikhail Kuzmin and his celebrated novel "Wings" (would you believe, for the first time I laid my hands on it in the library of Harvard University in 1991!). Novels of James Boldwin, Truman Capote, memoirs of Jean Mare and lots of other similar books get translated into Russian. Published also was the two volume compilation of works by the gifted Russian actor and director Eugeny Kharitonov (1941-1981).

A whole lot of things undergo changes in everyday life as well. Gay discos openly function in Moscow and Peterburgh. In the center of the capital there was opened a gay bar "Underground", one of the proprietors of which was Roman Kalinin. [Some data are not valid any longer, with many of the mentioned gay organizations having discontinued their activity or ceased to exist].

Gays and lesbians have their regional human rights and cultural organizations in Moscow, Peterburgh, Barnaul, Postov, Nizhny Tagil, Kaluga, Murmansk, Omsk, Nomsk, Yaroslavl and some other towns. In August 1993 twenty seven local organizations formally started the national association of gays and lesbians under the name "Triangle". Yet the association did not get an official registration, and publication of its newsletter was soon suspended due to financial shortages.

Some local organizations are more stable and effective. So, in Peterburhg active are the Tchaikovsky Fund of cultural initiatives and protection of sexual minorities (founded by Olga Zhuk and later headed by Yuri Ereev), and the Association of gays protection "Wings"(directed by professor Alexander Kuharsky). As to Moscow, in 1991 E. Debrianskaya and R. Kalinin launched the political union "Liberation" (not officially registered)- in the place of what had formerly been the association of sexual minorities. The Moscow association of lesbian literature and the arts, created in the spring of 1991 by Mila Ugolnikova and Liubov Zinovieva, pursues humanitarian and educational activity, it hosted a few exhibitions of paintings and drawings, as well as literary soirees. Started in January 1993 the voluntary charity fund "Names" (presided by Nikolai Nedzelsky) works to perpetuate the memory of Russians who died form AIDS, and also provides social and psychological support to the HIV-infected and their relatives. The "Aesop" Center, founded by Kevin Gardner, was engaged in human rights and AIDS prevention activity. Active also is the organization "We And You" (headed by Gennady Krimenskoy).

The political impact of the weak gay organizations who act apart and whose leaders constantly discredit each other, is negligible. Even the repeal of the article 121.1 was a surprise for them. But they are pursuing a very useful educational and human rights activity. The most significant human rights action was the creation of the Moscow task force within the framework of the International committee of human rights for gays and lesbians. It was headed by the journalist Masha Gessen who drafted and published a thorough report on the situation in the sphere of human rights of gays in Russia. All gay organization actively cooperate with medical institutions dealing with AIDS prevention.

Despite enormous hardships of a financial and other nature, the gay press does exist and goes through the process of development. The "Tema" paper that had been published by Kalinin (announced circulation 20 thousand copies), ceased to be published after the 13th issue. As Kalinin put it "it had successfully completed its mission". But in 1992 the association "ARGO-RISK" (ARGO= Association for Gays Equality) started publishing the "Risk" paper, whose editor was Vladislav Ortanov (circulation 5 thousand, 7 issues published). In 1994 Ortanov passed the editing of the paper, which was transformed into a literary magazine, over to another person, and launched the illustrated erotic literary-publicistic and advertising magazine for gays "ARGO". The most durable gay paper "1/10", edited by Dmitry Lychev, went out in over 20 issues with circulation of 25 thousand. In 1992 one issue of the literary-historic journal "GAY, Slavs" was published (editor - Olga Zhuk) in Petersburg, and in 1993 - one issue of the illustrated gay journal "Ty"(You). Other attempts of this kind were not crowned with success.

All these papers and magazines carry the information on the life of gays and lesbians, erotic pictures (mostly from the Western press), translated articles, personal contact ads, recommendations of a medical and other character (for example, how to deal with gay bashing), ads of condoms and alike. There are far fewer female materials than male ones, not to speak of erotic stuff. Letters and ads are the clear evidence that the lifestyle and demands of Russian gays are as much diversified as those of their Western counterparts. One "outgoing, jovial, intelligent guy, 22/170/58 seeks a tall, sporty, well-educated gay friend who is trim and has a penis 22-28 cm long". Many young people are openly looking for well-to-do sponsors. But few are the ads that accentuate the need in love and friendship.

The "RISK" paper (¹2-3, 1992) started a discussion of the problem of the enduring partner. A 19-year-old guy writes: "I view all these talks about faithfulness as complete bullshit... It is utterly boring to always sleep with the same guy, even a hedgehog would subscribe to this. Thanks God, I am not ugly and able of finding as many guys as I like: different bodies, different lips, different dicks - each time you are in for a new thrill. Twenty years later, when I need nothing, I'll have to settle for someone constant, but not now - am I nuts?"

And next to it is the letter of 27-year-old Dmitry: "I am familiar with the problem of a constant partner. It so happened that when he came into my life, it became meaningful for me. I want him all the while, constantly, but this is not the issue: sex has withdrawn to the background, and since we have nowhere to live, we spent most of the time together walking around the town or visiting my or his friends who have long ago become our common... Probably, we can be rated as enduring partners but for me he is not a partner, but a beloved. And this is forever".

Not gays and lesbians alone are concerned with problems of homosexuality. Within the framework of a big-scale international conference - where state structures also took part - a round-table seminar was held in Moscow in June of 1994. Its subject was: "Same-sex marriages: moral and judicial problems", and it was suggested by the foreign experience. First to legalize same-sex marriages was Danmark, its suit was followed by Norway and Sweden, and this issue is under discussion in other countries as well. On the face of it - what is the meaning of registering cohabiting pairs that cannot bear children? Even many heterosexual couples try to do without the state's interference. But registration of marriage provides significant advantages in the sphere of social insurance, inheritance rights, etc. Besides, how can you reproach people with sexual licentiousness and at the same time deny them the right of legalizing their stable relations? Many gays and lesbians have children from previous marriages, and their kids, as a rule, grow into heterosexuals. Though some participants of the round table admitted to regarding same-sex love as unnatural and morally unacceptable, no one objected to legalization of such relations, in which both a person and a society are interested. The round table recommended the parliament to include the corresponding article into the new code of family law. Needless to say no one hopes this is going to happen soon.

The repeal of the article 121.1 did not solve the problems of civil equality of sexual minorities. Some people, imprisoned in line with this article, still continue serving their terms, and in some places their position has even worsened. As a supervisor of one corrective institution put it: "I don't care a fig that the article has been repealed. They are doing their time, and they will go on doing it". And a staffer of the Petersburh police stated, concerning the gay prisoners' complaints of being harassed, that homosexuals "have opted for this life themselves, they do not disavow this lifestyle, so why should we guard them?" As before, gays and lesbians often become objects of the police arbitrariness, and have many of unclear crimes put down to them.

Homophobia is deliberately indoctrinated and actively propagated by the chauvinist mass media. And the fascist press methodically and constantly lumps together communist ideas, sionism, democracy and homosexuality. So, the "Russkoe voskresenie" (Russian resurrection) paper writes in the article entitled: "Let's defend Russian orthodox belief from kikes": "Both communist adepts and democrats are of a foreign origin. The former and the latter are sexual perverts as the first decree of the Soviet power abolished the punishment for homosexuality. Now the democrats achieved the same. (It was reintroduced by the orthodox Christian Stalin and his Russian retinue in 1934)".

The article 121.1 repealed, attacks on homosexuals in the mass press became ever fierce. Leader of the chauvinist union "Renaissance" Valery Skurlatov, who professed moral purity as long ago as the 1960s, stated in August of 1993 that 70 per cent of Eltsin's government are homosexuals who pose danger for the state because of their hatred of healthy citizens.

On November 17, 1993, the paper of Russian businessmen "Commersant-daily" published a sensational report, referring to Vadim Pokrovsky: "An epidemic of AIDS has broken out among homosexuals in Moscow". The figures cited in the article were obviously unauthentic, but they were accompanied by the commentary of the head of the Moscow moral police, Vladimir Pronia: "The society has been striving to depravity, and it has gotten it. At the moment the police have no rights to control homosexuals by any means. The article, punishing for homosexuality was removed from the criminal code, and only the punishment for violence in regard to minors is left".

Some doctors are engaged in this campaign. President of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, V. Pokrovsky, indignantly reacted to the letter form a group of medical students, who came out for physical annihilation of the "groups of risk". However, back in 1991, while a member of the presidential committee of struggle with pornography, he stated in an interview to the "Megapolis-express" paper, that AIDS is a "moral disease of the society", and called the "demands to legalize homosexuality" absurd. To the words of the journalist "But is not it an ailment?", the academician replied: "It is an ailment. There are people who are genetically predisposed to this kind of sexual contacts. To consider it a norm is absurd. It is still more absurd to view as normal those healthy people, who, getting sexually cloyed, engage in homosexual contacts and deprave minors. This is not an ailment, but licentiousness with which we must fight, in particular, by means of legal methods". Who, doctors or police, - and by what signs - will distinguish the sick people from depraved ones, the professor did not specify.

Downright hatred is the basic character of the article by therapist Michail Buyanov entitled: "Pathology should not prevail in the masses": "In Russia, as well as in France, homosexuality has never been a typical feature. We are not the English or some Swedes and the Dutch to parade our vices... The more outrageous it is to impose on us that which has always been foreign to the spirit of Russian people. Pathology of a few is not to be ascribed to the masses".

A doctor from Petersburg who is the author of the article entitled "What should the majority do when homosexuality becomes trendy?" ("Komsomolskaya Pravda" July 1,1993), unlike the above mentioned Buyanov, comes out against criminal prosecution and interference of the society into the private life, but he is scared by the slacking of social control and popularization of homosexuality.

Such attitudes are not necessarily related to fascism or intolerance toward differences, characteristic of the Soviet "repressive psychiatry". Sensational nature, and I'd say exhibitionism, of the way the Russian press covers this subject, generates protest even in the least biased people. When I read in a paper the confessions of the popular dancer Boris Moiseev revealing how he slept with the former komsomol leaders, I felt uneasy. There was nothing supernatural in his story. Many female ballet dancers and dramatic actresses are compelled to sleep with directors or bosses with the view of landing nice roles. But only professional prostitutes bring this out in the open. And here we are nearly offered to admire such frankness.

In this issue, like in many others, American examples are not valid for Russia. The outstanding Russian gay intellectuals and artists do not make their confessions public not only due to the fear, but because they prefer not to show off their private life. They are shocked by commercialization, to which same-gender sex is susceptible in a greater degree than any other. Gay clubs and discos are expensive, they are attended mostly by the well-heeled "new Russians" and those young people who are ready to provide them with sexual services. This is a whole lot better than public bathrooms, but not in the least romantic and often unsafe.

The idea of the special "gay identity", popular in the USA, does not appeal to many Russians, and petty squabbles and claims of their leaders just irritate them. "These lousy activists just walk around and tell about their sexuality. And they do this with the only aim of attracting the West's attention; activism has appeared here only because the Western people taught them this. My good friends know that I am a gay, but this is my private business. I need not tell everyone that I like sleeping with men", a Petersburg gay intellectual revealed to an American journalist. And another one added: "I do not want to belong to any subculture. I know that this is trendy in the West, but the fact that I prefer to sleep with men does not mean that I want to associate with them first and foremost ".

Politicization of sexuality is as much one-sided and dangerous as its commercialization. But if the elements of communal life are absent, who can help gays and lesbians protect their civil rights, find like-minded friends and get a psychological help if needed?

At last Russian gays and lesbians got the chance to go out into the open, having realized themselves as the social and cultural minority. But the world they are entering is chaotic and perilous, where people seek in others enemies rather than friends. In the event of communist-fascist takeover gays and lesbians, as well as those who feel sympathy toward them, along with jews-inteccectuals, will be the first victims of mass repression.