Vladimir Nabokov and the First Attempt to Decriminalize Same-Sex Relationships in Russia
How a Russian liberal and the father of the great writer tried to abolish discriminatory legislation
Modern Era
The 1916 Corruption Case of a Secret Society of Gay Officials Who Wore a Golden Winged Penis Badge
How an investigation into wartime embezzlement during the First World War led to the exposure of a secret club of men who loved antiquity and other men.
The Future President’s Secret Operation: How Franklin Roosevelt Spent a Million Dollars on a Hunt for Gay Men in the Navy
…to rid the U.S. Navy in Newport, Rhode Island, of ‘cocksuckers and rectum receivers.’
A History of Kissing Between Men in Russia
From Nicholas II’s Easter kisses with soldiers to Brezhnev’s fraternal kiss.
Aleksey Apukhtin: Homosexual, Poet, and Friend of Tchaikovsky
Also the author of popular romances and poems that do not indicate the addressee's gender.
History of Male Homosexuality in Senegal
From colonial observations of the góor-jigéen to the media panic of the early 21st century.
The Possible Homosexuality of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich of the Romanov Family
A Caucasian childhood, scholarship, liberalism, and involvement in the murder of Rasputin against a life without marriage or children.
Homoeroticism of the Victorian Era: Male Intimacy in Photographs from the 1850s–1890s from the Herbert Mitchell Collection
A gallery of portraits in which men embrace and hold hands.
Muzhik-Maslenitsa: A Maslenitsa Figure of a Man Dressed as a Woman
A cross-dressed Maslenitsa figure described in early twentieth-century Russian folklore materials.
Was Atatürk Gay or Bisexual?
What memoirs, biographies, and British intelligence reports say about the sexuality of Turkey's founder.
Andrey Avinoff: A Russian Émigré Artist, Gay Man, and Scientist
How Orthodox Christianity, butterflies, a scientific career, and male eroticism came together.
Russian Poet Ivan Dmitriev, Young Favourites, and Same-Sex Desire in the Fables 'The Two Doves' and 'The Two Friends'
A friend of Karamzin and Derzhavin, minister of justice, and a fable writer whose “friendship” turns into male love.
Sergei Romanov: A Homosexual Member of the Imperial Family
His homosexuality, childless “white marriage,” service in Moscow, and death.
The Execution of the Siamese Gay Prince Rakronnaret (Kraison): Power and a Charge of Treason
The earliest known episode in Thailand's LGBT history.
Did Swedes Really Take Sick Leave for Homosexuality to Protest or Get Out of Work?
What really happened?
The Diary of Pyotr Medvedev, a Bisexual Moscow Merchant, 1854–1863
Poor relations with his wife, admiration for young men, onanism with friends, and political views.
Uncensored Russian Folklore: Highlights from Afanasyev’s “Russian Secret Tales”
“Sowing Dicks,” “The Fool,” and “The Soldier and the Priest.”