For Russia’s LGBT community, homophobia and violence are part of day-to-day reality.
Some cases, like the murder of activist Yelena Grigoryevalast week or torture in Chechnya, have made international headlines and caused global outrage, while others go tragically unreported.
But there is more to LGBT+ life in Russia than just oppression. In fact, a new generation of queer Russians is rising, and they are keen to create a better future for the community. LGBT Russia: raves, drag parties and role models
The queer Russian underground already exists: there are raves, drag parties, online publications and support networks and, most importantly, a new crop of outspoken role models for whom queerness is an integral part of their identity.
For this photography project, London-based publication The Calvert Journal collaborated with Moscow-based queer culture magazine O-zine to showcase the queer creatives in Moscow and St Petersburg who represent this new wave.
“We wanted to create a publication in which queer youth could express themselves and help others in their community,” says journalist Dmitry Kozachenko, who started O-zine with queer sex blogger Sasha Kazantseva in 2018.
The publication is completely self-funded, and under Russia’s “gay propaganda law” all the LGBT+ material has to be labelled 18+. O-zine aims to explore Russian queer culture — not only its challenges, but the joys, pleasures and beauty. Read more via Pink News