The queer Russian couples refusing to apologise for their love
- Text by Biju Belinky
- Photography by Anna Milokumova
It’s a well-known fact that being LGBTQ in Russia is far from easy. With a staggering 85% of the population declaring to be against gay marriage (as of 2013), queer people are continuously forced to deal with the very real threat of brutality – be that at the hands of one of Putin’s allies and his concentration camps in Chechnya, violent homophobic gangs targeting young people through dating apps, or Russia’s own state-sanctioned, oppressive police.
Still, as it is the tradition of queer people all over the world, they resist. Both openly as activists speaking truth to power, but also privately – daring to be happy and thrive in a society so keen to see them fail, recoil in fear and be eaten by guilt. In Russia, as terrifying as it is, existence is resistance.
Photographer Anna Milokumova started documenting Russia’s gay community at the age of 19, through the man who would become her best friend. Coming from a strict, religious Russian family, Anna recalls never having met an openly gay person before him – but this friendship opened her eyes to a whole new perspective on the world.
She then decided to shoot this series of images. Entitled We Are Together, they offer a glimpse into the everyday lives of some LGBTQ couples who live and love together, despite the hostile environment they find themselves in.
With the Russian federal law against “disseminating gay propaganda” to “protect the children” still in place, and persecution being rife, many of Anna’s subjects chose not to show their faces for their own safety.
However, every single one of the couples was more than happy to share their feelings for each other – love and mutual respect above all.
Yana, 34, and Svetlana, 43.
Maxim, 26, and Eugine, 34.
Polina, 22, and Tasya, 23.
Alexander, 28, and Eugine, 41.
Kirill, 25, and Igor, 46.
Dante, 34, and Maxim, 26.
Eugine, 21, and Roman, 17.
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