Journalist Elena Kostyuchenko and her wife, rehabilitation specialist and editor Yana Kuchina, became guests of the YouTube channel "Guys Plus". In a long interview, they talked about how Russian activism has gone from public actions near the State Duma to forced emigration and underground work in ten years, why the Russian authorities are so afraid of LGBT people, and how to maintain closeness when the state is trying to deprive you of the right even to your own body.
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Table of Contents
"Words have weight." Ban on the "LGBT movement"
Discussing the recognition of the "international LGBT movement" as extremist, Elena Kostyuchenko notes that this structure was created by the imagination of the state only to "knead people in gay clubs and private parties." In her opinion, repression is necessary for the authorities to maintain the level of mobilization and fear in society.
Yana Kuchina admits that state propaganda "works well" on her: after the Supreme Court's decision, she felt an "ominous icy distance" from Russia and a paralyzing fear. However, it was love that became for her the feeling that she never doubted, which helped her overcome this feeling of helplessness.
"Love cannot be abolished by law." Memories of "Kissing Days"
Kostyuchenko recalls 2013, when the State Duma adopted the first law on "propaganda". Then she and her former partner organized "Kissing Days" outside the walls of the parliament.
- It was a protest against the division of people into categories: Elena calls the wording of the law "fascist" because it postulates the social inequality of groups of people.
- These were real persons: A variety of people participated in the action - from municipal deputies to deaf activists.
- It was dangerous: Aggressive "Orthodox activists" and neo-Nazis came out against the participants, who used children for provocations and attacked protesters.
Why are LGBT people "natural enemies" of the regime?
According to the heroines, the persecution of the LGBT community is inextricably linked with war and patriarchal ideology. Elena emphasizes that fascism is built on a rigid gender hierarchy, where a man is a soldier, and a woman must "give birth continuously."
Yana adds that it is important for the state to control the bodies of citizens. If a person decides for himself whom to love and how to dispose of his life, he becomes a danger to the system, which needs people to go kill others on orders, without asking questions. "We are natural enemies for them, because we belong to ourselves," she sums up.
Activism Today: Survival and the "Hidden Web"
Despite the repression, queer activism in Russia is not dead, it has changed. Today it is aimed at Survival:
- Evacuation of people from dangerous regions, for example, the work of the North Caucasus SOS group.
- Helping trans people who are outlawed.
- Covert support within professional communities — doctors and NGO employees find ways to help LGBT patients despite the prohibitions.
Personal: Cat, Couch and Hope
The story of Elena and Yana is also a love story, which began with a joint life and a call from the front. Now they live in emigration, trying to get used to the idea that their "home" is themselves and their cat, which Elena calls "a battery on legs".
Elena admits that it is difficult for her to adapt and she still cannot "put down roots" abroad, while Yana dreams of a simple feeling of owning her own sofa - a symbol of stability, which they have been deprived of. Despite the bitterness that their wedding took place without their parents, and the awareness of the scale of the tragedy in Russia, they continue to work and believe in the "beautiful Russia of the future", which cannot be built without recognizing the right of every person to dignity.
You can watch the full interview with Elena Kostyuchenko and Yana Kuchina about how fear turns into stubbornness and why silence is a trap on the PARNI + channel or in QueerTube, if you don't want this video in your YouTube story:
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