Gay Dawn (Light-Blue Dawn)

Correspondent for Top Secret

If we are to believe the press, the ranks of homosexuals in our country are growing and strengthening under Western influence and as a result of newfound freedoms. To hear gay people themselves tell it, virtually every prominent figure in science, art, and politics is a secret member of their "light-blue [gay] brotherhood." The stories have gone so far that Stalin is now portrayed as "gay," supposedly sleeping with his own driver.

As if it were axiom, they retell the story of People's Commissar Chicherin, who was allegedly the lover of Mikhail Kuzmin, the founder of Soviet homosexual culture. The execution of NKVD chief Yezhov is linked to the beginning of repressions against high-ranking gays. Among contemporary figures, they name such people—I can't bring myself to repeat these names aloud...

So what is this all-powerful brotherhood? A population? A party? A clan? A mafia?

Or simply—a foreign disease?

Gay Dawn: Gay, Genes, Chromosomes

According to research by American professor Dr. Kinsey, every tenth citizen of the world belongs to the homosexual minority. Gays themselves, however, consider the term "minority" incorrect, imprecise, and even offensive, since it could also include pedophiles, necrophiles, and zoophiles. After scandalous Moscow gay journalist Yaroslav Mogutin attempted to officially register his marriage with American artist Robert Filippini, one newspaper was indignant: "Well, now we just have to wait for some zoophile to bring a frog to the registry office."

Most gays do not recognize their orientation as abnormal. They argue that not only homosexual sex stands beyond the bounds of public morality, but also anal sex between a man and a woman. In the United States, for example, the latter is illegal, and many women use this to get rid of unloved husbands. "So, does 'normal' mean just three worker-peasant positions?" asks Yaroslav Mogutin. "Then a huge part of the population automatically falls into the 'minority' category..."

The mass perception of homosexuality in our country, according to Mogutin, is a copy of prison psychology. Article 121, Part 1 of the RSFSR Criminal Code, which punished sodomy, was abolished only recently. Yet the average person still imagines a homosexual as a marginal, underground creature, something between a prostitute and a drug addict. A creature that dwells not far from a public toilet. In correctional labor institutions, they traditionally belong to the caste of "untouchables," and while in the prison hierarchy a passive homosexual is considered worthless, an active "boss" is the height of perfection (although the latter is much more prone to stable homosexuality). This philosophy breeds homosexuality in geometric progression, as people who never before experienced gay inclinations fall into the category of the opushchennye. To this day, in every colony there are approximately 10-14 "punks" per hundred inmates. It's not unlikely that the overall percentage of homosexuals in our country is significantly higher than in other states.

Fearing classification as "second-rate" people, most homosexuals don't dare to openly express their nature. By social position, all gays can be conditionally divided into three groups. First: "latent" homosexuals—those who are afraid to admit their gayness to themselves. Second—"opportunistic"—people who, while secretly living a homosexual lifestyle, are forced to maintain a hetero family. A married gay with a reputation as a good family man is the most common type. The third, extremely small category is "open" gays. Standing apart among the latter are the so-called "professional" homosexuals. They call themselves gay activists, make careers, and achieve success through persistent struggle for the rights of sexual minorities. Roman Kalinin, the man who carved a "gay window" to Europe and created Russia's first newspaper for gays and lesbians, even put forward his candidacy for president. Roma, however, is the only activist who understood that the world cannot be turned upside down through gay political extremism, and went into business instead. He hasn't shown his face at recent homosexual conferences...

Gay activists suggested that the aforementioned Yaroslav and Robert join hands with them, activists, and march in column with banners to the registry office, line up at the threshold and demand immediate change in legislation. But according to Yaroslav, the "groom" and groom "wanted to officially register their relationship, not put on a circus for the plebs."

Even Jean Genet, a classic of world literature and homosexual in life and work, said: "Pederasts are highly impartial," noting a quality common to gays all over the world—promiscuity, casual sexual encounters. The gays I spoke with had periods when their lovers changed daily. With the advent of AIDS, a new trend has emerged in the gay world—the desire for family bonds. In American cities, entire neighborhoods—historic meeting places for gays—have emptied; newspapers publish pages of obituaries. The demand to provide legal status for homosexual marriages, according to gays, is not a challenge to society but a pressing necessity. Gays want to be able to maintain a joint household and, in case of divorce, divide property on a legal basis. They dream of adopting children. The only question is, what sexual orientation will result from raising a child in a gay family? "Not a problem," says Dima Lychev, editor-in-chief of the gay newspaper "1/10," in response. "I had lots of classmates whom I tried to seduce but never managed to tempt." But where's the guarantee that an orphan blessed with a "mom" and "dad" of the male sex will have strong immunity against "temptation"?! It's not for nothing that gays have a saying: "A man is only a man until his first man." In several countries—Denmark, Sweden, Holland—homosexual marriages are legalized, but adoption is prohibited. By the way, in churches near Moscow, some Orthodox ministers will consecrate a "blue union" for 100-200 dollars.

Dima Lychev lives in a three-person family in an apartment with his mother. He has been attracted to boys since the age of 12 but considers himself bisexual because he "can do it with women too." His mother initially suspected that her son was using drugs, so when he confessed his "blueness," she was even relieved—at least this "disease" isn't fatal. When Dima brought his loved one, Sasha, home, she saw that he was neat, unlike her son, and could do all kinds of household chores, so she accepted him as one of the family.

Dima "imported" Sasha from the Baltic states. Gays, for the most part, are people without complexes or moral imperatives. Once, Dima decided, like many of his brothers, to engage in prostitution. There exists a so-called "blue mail" similar to Gypsy communication: meeting at the pleshka (cruising area), calling each other, people exchange information: who, where, how much? Dima learned about a young man in the Baltic states who was willing to pay for intimate relations. He went there, and as soon as he saw him, he knew: he wouldn't take money from him. Love arose.

Then Lesha appeared. He wrote to Dima at the newspaper from the Russian provinces, describing how he was tormented at school: beaten, taunted as a "faggot," raped by the entire class—and now, at 18, he wanted to commit suicide. After a routine editorial reply, a correspondence developed between Dima and Lesha, growing into friendship, and then a non-classical love triangle formed. Now Dima and Sasha call Lesha their "child." Moreover, the head of the family, Dima, admits that he is jealous of the child—for his hypersexuality...

This "unit of society" is fragile and unstable also because Dima cannot legally register his loved ones at his residence. It's also unclear who is the husband and who is the wife here. As Yaroslav Mogutin answers the question about active and passive roles in their union: "We have a sliding schedule."

One still has to pay for "open" homosexuality, for the right to live in society and be free from society. Militia periodically visit Yaroslav, demanding tribute and threatening to put him in a mental institution. Even gay activists are outraged when their faces appear on the blue screen. The would-be president Roman Kalinin fears the slightest mention in the press of the "Underground" bar for gays that he opened: thanks to the "mail," there are enough clients as it is, and excessive advertising might attract "the wrong people"...

Racketeering exists not only for merchants. Racketeering for homosexuals is called "repair." One of my business acquaintances started his career by targeting gays near the Bolshoi Theatre. "Repair" is alive even today, when homosexuals are supposedly no longer outlaws. Apparently, they are too gentle and feminine to fight back against bull-necked attackers. They don't dare seek protection from law enforcement, either: interacting with criminals, the militia inevitably adopts the philosophy of the criminal world, one of whose postulates states that having dealings with a "pederast" is beneath dignity...

When I was standing in line for tickets to a gay disco among a crowd of beautiful boys and embracing girls, a silver Volvo pulled up, and five thugs got out and knocked down a gay couple with the words "filthy faggots." But seeing security, they slammed their doors and sped away. Homosexuals themselves, who have hypertrophied everything—both feelings and understanding of sex's place in life—explain homophobia as envy from those deprived of the talent to love. In my view, "repair" is a derivative of lack of culture...

It's good that we now have our own civilized meeting places. Old, familiar "toilet" options also function in Moscow—pleshki near the Bolshoi Theatre and the Heroes of Plevna monument. The entire Kremlin wall on the side of the Alexander Garden is a large "toilet under the stars." When a policeman approaches gay Shura on Red Square and asks, "What are you doing here?" Shura innocently replies, "I want to get married."

Low-income gays dream of non-commercial clubs where they could meet "like-minded people." Three years ago in Moscow, at the Center for Medicine and Reproduction, where the "Intimacy" shop is now located, such a club opened. Visitors got a free opportunity to discuss topics close to them: from the works of Shakespeare and Mikhail Kuzmin to recipes for cooking solyanka. An amateur gay troupe performed there in "The Princess and the Pea," where the princess turned out to be a prince... The club lasted a year—intimacy commerce won out.

The problem of loneliness, the desire to be among one's own is especially strong in the provinces. Gay newspapers are overflowing with cries from the soul from Kazan, Voronezh, Ufa, Orenburg: "Loneliness, lack of true friends, despondency sometimes lead me to one thought: is it worth living at all..." "It's terribly lonely to live! Looking for a merciful person who needs a faithful, tender friend..."

Many young provincials take the bait of advertisements: "Looking for a friend, housing provided," and come to Moscow hoping for a better life. They settle with a rich uncle, and love emerges against a backdrop of material well-being—most often, the gay toy soon bores the owner, and he throws it out the door. While youth hasn't passed, the search for happiness can continue. One can turn to pimps, for instance—they're on duty in the Pushkinskaya metro passage and near any hotel, with databases of wealthy clients.

My acquaintance Shura, in cases of urgent need for money, prostitutes himself independently and very sweetly boasts about his lover from gangster circles: "He drives me home in a fancy car, buys me fruit, he gave me boots as a gift..."

Of course, organized crime doesn't tolerate "pederasts" in its ranks. However, gays have infiltrated the mafia as well. Shura's lover is the right-hand man of one of the bosses in the Solntsevo group. True, he very skillfully disguises his personal life...

Despite the showy disgust toward "homos," the mafia doesn't at all disdain taking money from all the "pleasure spots" for gays that have sprung up in the capital. The same Solntsevo guys patronize the "Chance" disco at the Mossovet Theater. It was organized with the help of gay sponsors by people from the gay environment: a certain Pasha from the stage, and the same Roma Kalinin. It's a very profitable business: the entrance ticket costs 15-20 thousand, and there are queues at the box office like at no other night establishment in Moscow. There are no fights: the public is peaceful, soft. Various famous personalities drop by: the self-proclaimed sex symbol Boris Moiseev (known among "his own" as Berta), Igor from the "MMM" commercials, who only appears with Julia on TV... Sergey Penkin's name figures among the creators of the "Premiere" disco at the House of Film Actors on Vorovskogo. They say it's just the name, since the gay singer doesn't like to part with money.

But a restaurant for gays at Preobrazhenskaya Square opened and closed—unable to find common language with the local unofficial authorities.

Not all gays like Moscow's discos and bars. "A dump," say gay aesthetes. "It's dangerous to go to the toilet." Why it's dangerous is easy to understand from an article in a gay newspaper about London bars: "...And the toilets in the bars shine with whiteness, and nobody sucks anyone off there."

In domestic toilets, people go in pairs. At the "Chance" disco, I was told the rate: for lovers of "birch sap," pleasure in the toilet costs 50 thousand. However, an elderly bald gentleman in glasses sitting nearby shrugged: "Personally, I did it for free."

The culmination of a gay disco is not the show by the "Madame Colibri" group, not the dances with male striptease, but the "pickup." The night has not been wasted if a gay leaves before dawn with a new boyfriend. Despite the fact that casual acquaintances are fraught with complications, nature overcomes fear, gay moths again and again flock at midnight to the romance of novelty... The story of a gay famous in his circles, who sued the "Ostankino" TV company for a considerable sum for showing him without permission in a program about gays, is typical. The gay was robbed and killed in his own home as a result of a promising romantic meeting at a disco.

In wide circles, there is a growing conviction that today's homosexual mafia in our country is comparable in strength and influence to the criminal one. I, however, failed to detect signs of one-party system or organization in the "light-blue [gay] brotherhood." Rather, there are contours of center and periphery. There are overt and covert gay leaders and authorities, but no unified center or "common fund."

For the provinces, these are all who are visible. After Yaroslav Mogutin's demonstrative wedding action, he is flooded with letters from all corners of our vast homeland: they call him almost a prophet, name him "our banner." They beg him to send them a used condom as a gift, some personal item. They ask for nude photos as keepsakes of him and gay newspaper editor-in-chief Dima Lychev.

They told me about a certain main gay of the country nicknamed Mishka Bug-Eyes (Lupoglazyi), a former soloist of the Munich Opera. Supposedly he lives in the upper floors of the Soviet Army Theater, and all soldiers pass through his bed, after which they live like lords. And whoever doesn't give in to Mishka serves as if in the devil's hell. And everyone fears and respects this "godfather" of homosexuality...

I, however, believe that the gay mafia consists of separate, scattered "groups," specializing mainly in the arts. Gays are refined natures, preferring clean work, and express themselves most actively and successfully in creativity. Ballet is a traditionally homosexual form of culture. As is fashion. The art business is gradually "turning light-blue [gay]" as well. The music world to a considerable extent consists of gay clans. Singer Valery P. told me about the team at Petersburg television—"Hit-93," "94," etc. In exchange for fame—"promotion" on screen—Valera had to, pardon me, turn his back and bend over. A situation, in my view, quite recognizable, typical also for heterosexual society...

Of course, X., our number one producer, would not support a young and pretty boy if the latter did not render him certain services. Nor would the famous show business entrepreneur Y. help a handsome man with dubious musical talent out of nowhere.

Gays are convinced that there is a certain gay lobby in the government—after all, the repeal of Article 121 came as a complete surprise to gay activists. So, someone high up must have whispered in the president's ear... Shura, a gossip lover, shared enthusiastic memories of celebrating New Year at a government dacha in the Vorobyovy Hills: "It was fantastic! We girls were brought in cars, there was police at the gates, in the hall—a long table, prim waitresses. And—only men... They gave gifts to everyone: hair gel for some, lipstick for others, then we dispersed in pairs to the apartments—there were countless of them..."

A natural reaction arises: can a person with homosexual inclinations hold a high government post at all? After all, for most gays, sex comes first, and only then come the concepts of honor, duty, and service to the Fatherland.

The problem of gay service in the army seems equally ambiguous to me. The United States, by the way, has already "broken" under the pressure of gay masses, adopting a compromise law prohibiting draft boards from asking about the sexual orientation of recruits. Here, no one even asked. But Dima Lychev cheerfully boasted to me that in the army he had 23 partners, and only two of them were previously gay... I am not inspired by the prospect of sending my son to the army for such a "life experience." Who knows if I will be destined after this to behold grandchildren—regular ones, not adopted or "test-tube"...

I also doubt that law enforcement agencies are a suitable place for gays. Andrey N.'s story strengthened my suspicions. Andrey turned to homosexuality as a result of failures with girls. Through an ad, he met a guy who was studying at the law faculty. Every day he came over, stayed overnight, and Andrey began to harbor deep feelings for him. But as soon as his friend started working in the police, he changed drastically for the worse. He would drive up to the "Marksistskaya" metro station in a police car, grab 15-16-year-old boys selling newspapers or Pepsi, take them to the station... Andrey broke off relations with his beloved. After that, he was repeatedly beaten with a police baton, wore handcuffs, and got a concussion. Andrey's complaints to Petrovka and the Moscow City Prosecutor's Office were returned to the 36th precinct, where his ex-lover serves and laughs: "I can easily make you out to be crazy, send you for an examination. Or just hang an unsolved case on you..."

So what then—should we give THEM the whole world to save it? Let them grow without restriction in all directions, like strawberries in the sun?... No, let them better communicate in their meeting places, let them come out of toilets into the light of night gay bars and discos, let them love each other openly, but—in their own territory, not in public places. Let them create their special, painfully beautiful "light-blue [gay] subculture." And it's the government's job to ensure that society remains healthy. That there should be neither "repair," nor depravity, nor loneliness on a state scale. Because the unnaturalness of homosexuality is not at all in the specifics of the sexual act, but in the deficiency of even the strongest gay love. Even the idols of the "blue brotherhood"—both Roman Viktyuk and Boris Moiseev—confess to their close ones about the insurmountable loneliness that comes “after the final curtain.” After all, fans and lovers come and go, but children and grandchildren remain forever—of course, if they exist...