From Sin to Freedom: The End of Criminalized Homosexuality in Russia
The Russian criminal code removed the article ’Male sodomy' 30 years ago, which had previously punished male same-sex relations with jail time, which had existed for 60 years. Before this, sexual freedom was actually more accepted in Russia than in Europe, and homophobia only became a 'traditional value' during the Stalin's regime.
Tracing the History of Homophobia
Attempts to eliminate homosexuality have occurred throughout history, even dating back to the 6th century in Byzantium, where sexual relations between men were punished by castration or even death! The reason is based on religious belief: male sodomy is considered a sin in most world religions. Even in ancient Russia during the time of paganism, sexual freedom was natural and widespread in society, and people were fairly indifferent to it. With the arrival of the church, it became stigmatized. This is confirmed by Dan Healey in his book, 'Homosexual desire in Revolutionary Russia: the regulation of sexual and gender dissent.'
Attempts to regulate sexual relationships in Russia first began in the 12th and 13th centuries: until the 17th century, the most severe punishment for 'sodomy' was a temporary ban on attending church services. If the perpetrator repented, the ban was lifted, so morality was relatively permissive. This trend continued during the 15th to 17th centuries under the reigns of Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov, while at the same time in Western Europe, 'sodomy' was punishable by death, typically through hanging or burning at the stake.
Borrowing Western values
It is believed that the first step towards legalized homophobia in Russia was taken by Peter the Great, who copied the provisions from military codes in Europe. In the book 'History of Military Courts in Russia,' Nikolay Petukhov writes that in an attempt to create a powerful army in 1716, Peter I approved the 'Military Statute,' which was compiled based on Swedish, French, and German military laws. According to it, sodomy was punishable by corporal punishment, and in cases of violence, it could result in exile or execution. However, this statute only applied to military personnel, and not to ordinary citizens. Nicholas I continued to replicate European laws: he extended the anti-homosexual law to everyone, and made the punishment more severe, with a sentence of up to five years of exile to Siberia.
Homosexual relationships were not seen as a threat to public order, and therefore, almost no one was punished for them. For example, according to Dan Healey's research, there were no more than 50 criminal cases of 'sodomy' brought in the 18th century. It's important to note that 'sodomy' was a very broad term that encompassed a wide range of sexual activities that did not lead to procreation: from oral sex and masturbation to bestiality.
Freedom in the USSR
The criminal punishment for homosexual relations was abolished after the October Revolution. However, it was abolished along with the rest of the Criminal Code. In the new Soviet Criminal Code of 1922, there was no article that criminalized homosexuality, which meant that relative freedom was achieved for homosexuals in Russia. Against this backdrop, a somewhat open gay culture emerged in the country. In major cities, themed parties and shows with men in women's dresses were held, and even weddings - for example, the Russian edition of BBC News reported on two such weddings that took place in Petrograd in the early 1920s.
This level of tolerance mostly existed in the circles of the intelligentsia. However, aggressive homophobia continued at the societal level. People suspected of being in homosexual relationships were often beaten and discriminated against in the workplace, much like today. Gay salons were also subject to covert surveillance.
Stalin and the Reintroduction of 'Male Sodomy'.
This situation lasted for 15 years, until Stalin took power. During this time, homosexuality was thought to be a product of bourgeois society, which was at odds with the values of socialism. In the 1930s, homosexuals began to be persecuted and imprisoned, accused of political crimes such as espionage, fascism, the corruption of the Red Army and Navy.
As a result, the law against sodomy was reintroduced into the Criminal Code in 1934. This made sexual contact between men punishable by up to five years in prison, and if violence was used or a minor was involved, the sentence could be up to eight years.
After that, the sodomy law was included in the Criminal Codes of all the Soviet republics, with some variations. For example, in the Tajik SSR, there was an article about 'bacha-bazi' instead of “male sodomy: bacha-bazi is a type of child prostitution in Central Asia, when boys in women's clothing performed erotic dances in front of men, and then sexually satisfied them for money. And in Azerbaijan, any anal sex, including between a man and a woman, was criminalized. It is noteworthy that the article concerned only homosexual men; female homosexuality was not punished. But lesbians were considered to have schizophrenia and they even tried to “cure” them with pills and electroshock therapy.
Meanwhile, in Western countries, research was conducted on sexuality, and society gradually moved away from homophobia toward tolerance. In the Soviet Union, such research was banned, but there were attempts to abolish the article on male sodomy: various scientists and medical figures openly openly supported its repeal at different times.
By the second half of the 20th century, many countries began decriminalizing homosexuality, and Russia followed suit in the 1990s.
Controversial today
The law against homosexuality was removed from the Criminal Code in 1993, when Russian authorities decided to join the Council of Europe. Under the earlier version of the law, only acts of male homosexuality that were violent, coercive, or involved minors were punishable. The repeal of the law was almost unnoticed, without any publicity or public discussion. However, human rights movements began to develop in Russia.
Homosexuality was no longer a criminal offense, and it remains today only as an aggravating factor for other crimes. For example, in Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ('Sexual assault'), forcible same-sex sexual contact is punishable by three to six years in prison, the same thing committed by a group - up to ten, and in relation to a minor - up to 15. In general, homosexuality isn't really a major issue here - the same punishment applies for other crimes involving sexual violence.
According to the Ministry of Justice, approximately 60,000 people were convicted under the law against homosexuality over the course of its 60-year existence. However, those victims were never officially recognized as victims of political repression.
Ten years after the law against homosexuality was repealed, in 2003, for the first time in Russia, there was talk of a law banning the 'propaganda' of homosexuality. Today, under the guise of protecting ‘traditional values’ and resisting Western influence, authorities are imposing new sanctions against gay people. Although traditionally, homophobia wasn't a big issue in Russia - it was actually more tolerant than Europe in the past, and the criminalization of homosexuality was only really a phenomenon of Stalinist totalitarianism.