LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Student CAMP: Russian Queers |
by Kristen Minor |
One would assume it to be no surprise to you that homosexuality is a worldwide phenomenon. This comes as a shocking revelation, however, to those who would maintain that it is "a Western thing" or, even worse, "an American thing." One only wonders what the Canadians, in their "we just legalized gay marriage woo-ha" progressiveness, think of that oneperhaps they just legalized it because they knew none of their citizens needed the procedure but wanted to increase tourism?
I recently took a course on Russian popular culture for idle entertainment. Amid endless discussions of the cult of Lenin, the cult of Stalin, and the cult of everybody else, I decided to look at the history of homosexuality in Russia. It is most entertaining. An interesting note about homosexuality in Russian society is that the vast majority of books and other sources about it focus exclusively on male homosexuality. Lesbianism is largely ignoredgee, this never happensand it's an interesting commentary on gender politics in Russian history that lesbianism was virtually never criminalized; lesbian subculture flourished in Moscow and Saint Petersburg even when gay men were being persecuted early and often. Early mentions of homosexuality in Russia have to do with nobilityPrince Vasily III of Moscow, who ruled in the early 1500s, was openly homosexual. Vasily even went so far as to divorce his wife and shave his beard, a visible sign of homosexuality at the time. He also was apparently an awful lot of fun at parties. Other nobles, being relatively untouchable by the law, were able to flout their sexual orientation with little fear of reprisal. Some even went so far as to hire "servants" who were essentially well-paid prostitutes. These men commonly served their masters as coachmen, which gives a whole new slant to the idea of taking the master for a ride in the carriage. By the 19th century gay male culture had started to appear more often in literature. Documents at the time address with great concern the "growing epidemic of sex between men." The descriptions of this "epidemic" describe the actions of tetki (literally "aunties," it's analogous to "queens"), effeminate men who cruised Saint Petersburg looking for tricks, generally finding a willing soldier and a public restroom. I will avoid drawing any parallels to any other behavior found in other militaries; the more lurid of you are probably already two steps ahead of me in this regard. In this time homosexuality between men was criminalized. The reasoning behind this ban was relatively straightforward those men who allowed themselves to be penetrated were assuming a women's role, and this passivism in men was strictly taboo. This distinction was at best semantic, however, as both participants in sodomy, be they "active" or "passive", were equally prosecuted. Despite the laws, among the upper classes and artistic circles the ban on sodomy was virtually ignored and oftentimes openly defied. Many of the writers of the 19th century included homoerotic themes in their work, albeit in marginalized contexts. Pushkin, although himself a heterosexual, wrote a memorable letter to a gay memorist who he was friends with that included a poem commiserating the difficulties of finding romantic companionship while living in exile. He invites the man to visit him while noting that if the friend does come, Pushkin will make a point of guarding his ass. (I have, incidentally, started calling my best friend Pushkin.) This relative casualness towards homosexuality was reflected in Pushkin's workhe dealt with the issue in "Imitation of the Arabic," whose verses include the sensual "Sweet lad, tender lad/ Have no shame, you're mine for good/ We share a sole insurgent fire, we live in boundless brotherhood." Yikes. The power of this verse is marginalized by his choice of setting the poem in the Middle East, which served to make homosexuality seem far away and exotic. It is a reflection of the lingering homophobia of Russian society that these works and others by great Russian writers are not considered "central" to their bodies of work and are as such commonly overlooked. Following the October 1917 Revolution, homosexuality was theoretically decriminalized entirely. This was despite Lenin's anathema towards homosexualitysince the visible homosexuals at the time were nobles, he considered homosexuality to be yet another vice of the rich. The rise of Stalin, however, began a new wave of persecutiona new sodomy law, called Article 121, was formed in 1933 and the gay community was driven underground. The community hardly vanished, howeverstructures already in place could not be eradicated. Public cruising grounds in cities served as places where men could find sex as well as exchange information about where the police were to be cracking down on next. America's Stonewall Riots caused an international ripple that was felt in Moscow. Article 121 and homosexual persecution were looked on with increasing scrutiny by foreign gay activists. The Russian gay community slowly began to congealthroughout the 1980s organization occurred in fits and starts, despite the illegality of homosexuality. The first gay rights group, formed in 1984, was promptly disbanded by the KGB, and it was not until 1989 that the first group, the Moscow Union of Lesbians and Homosexuals, was allowed to exist. Because of Article 121 most of the organizers used pseudonyms and used word of mouth to advertise. 1991 was a banner year for queers in Russia. That summer the first gay pride was held, complete with what is quite possibly one of the best slogans ever, "Turn Red Squares into Pink Triangles." Two years later article 121 was finally repealed. 0 Modern gay life continues to be centered on the cities and is largely nonexistent in the provinces. The movement is not particularly radicalyears of operating under pseudonyms has repercussions. Nor has it overcome the pervasive Stalinist idea that private life is, well, private life. Be that as it may, queers are steadily becoming more visible. I'm sure the tsars and dictators would be perfectly appalled. Kristen Minor, a member of the class of 2004 at Dartmouth College, is spending her summer selling textbooks and researching languages that about six people speak. She recently turned twenty-one and can be reached at Kristen@youth-guard.org. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 13, No. 8, June 27, 2003 |