International participants in the “Physical Education Parade” held on Red Square, Moscow, on July 6th, 1936. I have written on a number of occasions about how the Soviet Union interfaced with the subject of “gayness” throughout its existence. Writing in 1959, Alexander Werth quotes a leading psychiatric encyclopaedia which firmly states homosexuality is a mental disorder caused by aberrant conditioning experienced in the environment. Furthermore, although Lenin abolished the old Czarist Law (including the Church-inspired anti-gay restrictions) – a new law was enacted which outlawed adult men sexually abusing young boys (through sodomy). This is considered the first anti-paedophile law in the world. On the other hand, Lenin never legalised homosexuality. Oddly, during the 1929s and 1930s, many gay individuals visiting the USSR spoke highly of the tolerance and acceptance they experienced. Although Russia is rabidly homophobic today – due to a resurgent Church – much of its everyday culture appears homo-erotic in nature.
This hypocrisy extends to the post-1991 heterosexual pornographic industry (pornography – as a financial exploitation of men and women – did not exist prior to 1991) – which sees men and women engaging in anal sex. As for Soviet history, photographic evidence abounds – with Slavic men acting stand-offish with other women (even their wives) – but warmly embracing and “kissing” other men (even those they do not know). Biographies and diaries of visitors to the USSR often speak of a sexually open mentally (which allowed for State-sponsored race-mixing – and homosexual liaisons providing it was kept “private” and out of the public domain) – albeit contained within the rhetoric of a moral conservatism. Many commentators point-out that a number of Old Bolsheviks were openly “gay” (there are rumours about Lenin being bisexual) – and this might explain why Lenin did not push for a complete ban on homosexuality.
