LGBT Rights in Russia

1716-Present

Period: Jan 1, 1605 to Oct 8, 2013

Tsar Dmitry

Oct 10, 1606

When Western-looking Tsar Dmitry (ruled 1605-1606) was overthrown, his corpse was dragged through Moscow by the genitals and displayed with the mutilated body of his reputed lover, Petr Basmanov. In the political symbolism of Muscovy, love between men was not easily tolerated. Instead, sodomy carried negative associations with other forms of deviance, and was invoked to damage reputations. Tsar Dmitry (also known as "False Dmitry" was accused of being gay in order to have his rule over thrown. There is no solid evidence stating that he was Homosexual.

Male Prostitution in Russia

Nov 10, 1800

In St. Petersburg and more slowly in Moscow, a subculture of male homosexuality had evolved by the end of the nineteenth century. One sarcastic critic called it "the little homosexual world." This world was based on a geography of specific cruising territories, on a common fund of rituals, dress and language, and on networks of mutual support.The most visible features of the little homosexual world owed much to the routines of male prostitution. Streets and public gardens in the center of both capitals gained notoriety as places where men who offered men sex for cash were available. Those who purchased their services were often called "aunties" (tetki), an adaptation of the French and German street-slang "tante."Although it was not legal, there was prostitution going on in Russia, male prostitution. This lead to an almost secret society of Homosexual Males.

17th-18th Century Laws Against Homosexuals

Nov 10, 1832

It was not until the 18th century when Russian leaders first took action against the country's gay community. Peter the Great is believed to be the first tsar to implement anti-gay laws in his domain. And then by 1832, the criminal code was introduced (Article 995) that defined being gay as a criminal act punishable by exile to Siberia for up to five years.

The Bolsheviks and Homosexuality

Nov 10, 1920

Homosexual relations were not explicitly welcomed by the Bolsheviks and raised to an equal status with heterosexuality. Yet they were regarded in principle as no great vice. The majority of Bolsheviks perhaps subscribed to the view that homosexuality was a medical condition, probably (if they read the popular sex advice tracts that they sponsored) a hormonal anomaly, and perhaps one day science would be able to control or even eradicate it. In the meantime, the legal persecution of homosexuals found in Britain and Germany was seen as irrational, reactionary, and bourgeois.There was some begining of tolerance towards Homosexuality in Russia

Mean While In America- 1

Nov 10, 1924

1924The Society for Human Rights in Chicago becomes the country's earliest known gay rights organization.Read more: The American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html#ixzz2kH7AA8zF

Prison Rape

Nov 11, 1953

t seems likely that in Khrushchev's blunt imagination the best way to prevent the sexual behavior of the camps from "infecting" Soviet society was to retain the anti-sodomy ban. Of course, male homosexual cruising territories continued to operate and expand as Soviet cities grew during the post-Stalin decades, and the anti-sodomy law did little to limit the subculture's growth. About 1,000 men per year were imprisoned as a result of the legislation during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Mean While in America- 2

Nov 11, 1955

1955The first lesbian-rights organization in the United States, the Daughters of Bilitis, was established in San Francisco in 1955.Read more: The American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html#ixzz2kNA1PSIr