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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Hannah Booth

Big picture: Gay Russian postcards, by Alexey Tikhonov – in pictures

Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
In the 20 years since Russia decriminalised homosexuality, it has seen a slow improvement in attitudes to the gay community. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
But the introduction this year of a series of anti-gay laws has led to a rapid rise in homophobia and conservative attitudes. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
One arts and culture website (colta.ru) has hit back. It has published kitsch, postcard-style photographs of nine LBGT couples kissing outside some of St Petersburg’s best-known landmarks. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
The idea is to stick two fingers up at the authorities, to show that the gay community is prepared to confront this growing intolerance head-on, before it escalates. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple hugging outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
The images may seem sweet and unprovocative, but in the current climate they are brave statements. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
Earlier this month, a gang attack in a gay-friendly club in Moscow ended with four people hospitalised; and in August a court banned gay pride marches in Moscow for the next 100 years. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
These follow St Petersburg’s banning of “homosexual propaganda” – a vague law whose main purpose, many believe, is to mobilise Russia’s conservative majority. One nationalist group has called for a similar ban in Moscow. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
This crackdown reflects a wider move towards ultra-conservative policies. These include suppressing public protest, such as performances by Pussy Riot, and discouraging the liberalisation of society. → Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
Big picture: Gay Russians: Same-sex couple kissing outside a Russian landmark in a style of a postcard
So far, the authorities have ignored the photographs, says Mikhail Ratgauz, deputy editor at colta.ru. The man behind the law, MP Vitaly Milonov, is fast becoming the face of Russia’s anti-gay movement. As colta prepares to publish a printed version of the pictures, these couples may become the faces of the reverse. Photograph: Alexey Tikhonov/colta.ru
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