The EU has renewed talks with the Kyiv government on closer ties, but in its zeal to promote visa-free travel it has dropped gay rights from the agenda.
Russia’s law outlawing ‘gay propaganda’ has brought into the open a subject that was almost unmentionable before. And ordinary Russians have turned out to be less homophobic than anyone imagined, says Sergey Khazov. Russia needs its own Stonewall: see Igor Yasin's contribution here
As Western sympathizers call for a boycott on the Sochi Olympics, Igor Yasin wonders if this is quite the best way to help Russia’s LGBT community win their fight for equality. Russia's anti-gay own goal: see Sergey Khazov's contribution here
Umar is 25 and from Gudermes in Chechnya. He is gay. What can the future hold for him in the macho, dzhigit, society he inhabits? He talked to Kseniya Leonova, the first time he has told anyone his story.
What is the experience of growing up gay in Russia? oDRussia publishes extracts of Sergey Khazov's semi-autobiographical novel — longlisted for a literary award in 2010, but deemed 'too politically sensitive' by publishers to make it into print.
Popular support is usually one of the reasons offered in support of Russia’s new anti-gay laws. To what extent does polling actually support such assertions? Alexander Kondakov presents the latest research data.
Poet and performer Olga Krause traces her life as a lesbian in Russia—from Soviet times, when the word itself was barely known, through increasing acceptance, and back to a newly violent and hostile environment.
In Russia, homophobia is not just an attitude, but government policy, with new legislation reinforcing traditional hostility to sexual minorities and violence against gay people as common as ever. Svetlana Reiter discussed the situation with psychologist Vladimir Shakhidzhanian.
What is life like for gay men and women in Russia? Sergey Khazov looks at the country's gay infrastructure, and discovers a very fragmented picture.
Valery Sidorenko and Sergei Ostapchuk, both tractor drivers, live together happily in a remote village in the Grodinsky region of Belarus. Alyona Soiko travelled there to meet them and hear their story.
