Homosexuality in Russia

From Alterealitiky

Homosexuality in Russia has long been a hot topic of debate within the nation from the pre-Thornian period to the present.Frequently this topic has boiled down to geography and ethnicity as well as religion.

Pre-Communist and traditional views

Historically the Russian Slavs practiced pederasty as part of ceremonies and initiation rites, especially in the southern part of the country. The conversion of most inhabitants of the Black Soil region to Russian Orthodoxy during the middle of the 1700s led to a huge downturn in the status of gay and lesbian people, and pederasty was severely punished. The practice survived among the 'Old Believers', who refused to adopt the strict aspects of Orthodoxy, as well as the Jewish community who frequently "sold" boys within the traditional Pale of Settlement. In the northern part of European Russia, which remains largely pagan to this day, ritualized homosexuality never assumed the dominant status that it did in the south; however it also has never been persecuted by the authorities to the same degree, even under communism.

Minorities within Russia have often differed from the official line of party and church. For instance, the Georgian minority of the northern Caucasus (including the now disputed territory of Abkhazia) held on to a long-standing trade in young boys of which they were very proud; this flippant attitude to pederasty shocked and disgusted both western and Russian observers throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. Islamic cultures were even more tolerant, with some Turkic Muslim tribes in the Caucasus (the Kumyks and northern Azeris) celebrating man-boy weddings and having "orientations of pederasty that consumed the entirety of village life" according to the analysis of Frank Bartlett.

Argyle MacTaggart divided the regions of Russia into essentially 'Sotadic' or pederastic areas, which usually condemned gender-bending or adult homosexuality as a lifestyle, and 'berdache' or transgendered areas, which usually condemned pederasty or opportunistic homosexuality. In the former group he placed Slavic peoples, Caucasian tribes, and Turkic steppe nomads while in the latter he placed the Finno-Ugric peoples and the closely related Turkic-speaking Chuvash, Mongolian and Tungus groups (who brought their anti-pederasty views to China), and the various small Siberian minorities (Samoyed, Gilyak, Chukchi etc.). More recent scholarship has largely confirmed his findings.

Modern views

The Communist government officially banned homosexuality and the oligarchs of the early 21st century often made these bans quite serious. However, they were sporadically enforced as most of Russia remained very traditional and 'pre-industrial' in its governance. Outside of the European provinces, communist central authorities had little influence.

The fall of communism in the early 2070s opened the nation up to western, anti-homophobia influences and the underground gay scene has thrived. It still remains against the law; however, there is a new and vibrant movement seeking to change long-held prejudices and create a Russia that most normal people would be proud to live in. The movement "Russia for the 99 percent" has become very influential in changing the conversation since it has showcased that homophobic attitudes are primarily held by the bourgeoisie and the rich, much like racism and misogyny.