One of its finest and most outrageous examples is Angel Ulyanov’s “Davai Zamutim” video from 2019. Protest, however, is not always so quiet. When society and the state claim that your love is ‘not normal’ and you can’t show it anywhere, it results in a quiet protest”. The main themes for Russian LGBT+ musicians are love, intimacy and feelings. It’s clear that it’s important for them to be incredibly open with their audience. ”With the rise of social media, especially Instagram, hundreds of openly queer bloggers emerged, and young musicians started speaking out too. “I think Russia has always had great queer musicians, but they were more cautious about being openly queer” says Dmitry. Founded in 2018 by Dmitry Kozachenko and Sasha Kazantseva as a space for queer Russian youth to showcase their creativity, O-zine is one of them. Undeterred by this, however, members of this new generation are keen to create spaces where they can thrive - often online. Under the infamous “gay propaganda law” passed in 2013, there is legally no space for queer voices in the mainstream media or public sphere. But there’s also an indirect violence involved - the refusal of representation.
Russia is an undeniably hostile place for LGBT + folk, who live under the constant threat of direct violence in the form of attacks, harassment and discrimination.
