“Those that make up this new wave of Russian queer music are indisputably courageous — something seen not only in their sharing of feelings condemned by society, but also in acting, in a way, as the face of a wider queer movement.”
Russia is an undeniably hostile place for LGBT+ folk, who live under the constant threat of direct violence in the form of attacks, harassment and discrimination. But there’s also an indirect violence involved -- the refusal of representation. Under the infamous “gay propaganda law” passed in 2013, there is legally no space for queer voices in the mainstream media or public sphere. Undeterred by this, however, members of this new generation are keen to create spaces where they can thrive -- often online. Founded in 2018 by Dmitry Kozachenko and Sasha Kazantseva as a space for queer Russian youth to showcase their creativity, O-zine is one of them.
“I think Russia has always had great queer musicians, but they were more cautious about being openly queer” says Dmitry. ”With the rise of social media, especially Instagram, hundreds of openly queer bloggers emerged, and young musicians started speaking out too. It’s clear that it’s important for them to be incredibly open with their audience. The main themes for Russian LGBT+ musicians are love, intimacy and feelings. When society and the state claim that your love is ‘not normal’ and you can’t show it anywhere, it results in a quiet protest”.
Protest, however, is not always so quiet. One of its finest and most outrageous examples is Angel Ulyanov’s “Davai Zamutim” video from 2019. We follow a group of tracksuit-clad lads through bleak urban surroundings -- with their buzzcuts and Adidas stripes, they project the threat of violence so often coded into the concept of Russian masculinity. When they encounter a neon-haired singer in a deserted underpass, we naturally expect confrontation. Here, though, violence is replaced with voguing -- the original fearlessness of a culture born in the ballroom scenes of NYC becomes a power which dismantles homophobia. Through his own radical expression of masculinity, Angel, who is openly gay, aims to create music that transcends the boundaries of the queer community -- and that seeks to dismantle those that lie beyond it. Read more and see videos via i-D