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Russia's Hidden Gay Literature Edited by Kevin Moss Out of the Blue: Russia's Hidden Gay Literature, Edited by Kevin Moss, Gay Sunshine Press, 1997, 416 pages, $19.95 paperback; $50.00 limited hardcover By Mark Anthony Masterson
Out of the Blue is a welcome anthology. Its makes available in English, in many cases for the first time, writings that were produced in Russia during the last 180 or so years. It contains poetry, short stories, excerpts from longer prose works, personal letters, journal entries, a play and a lengthy selection of letters to the editors of two gay journals that began publication in the post-glasnost era.
There is also an introduction that places this collection in the context of Russian literature and history since its very beginnings in the 800s with the ascendancy of Kiev. If one wants to get a feel for what it has been like to be a gay man in this century in Russia, this would be an excellent book to consult. If one is looking for insight into the Russian lesbian experience, it is not to be found here. Out of the Blue (the title refers to the fact that the Russian word for "gay" is "blue") is arranged chronologically into four sections. They correspond to the customary division of Russian literary and artistic production into its various periods.
The second section covers the literary production during the time between the 1905 revolution and 1920. This period is often called the Silver Period of Russian literature. This period produced Russia's great gay novelist, Mikhail Kuzmin. He is best known for his novel, Wings, which is not excerpted in the collection. That is unfortunate. Still, there are two of his short stories and generous selection of poems. The second of the two stories, "Virginal Victor: A Byzantine Tale," is an atmospheric gem that does justice both to its exotic medieval setting and to the vagaries of homoerotic desire. Also included in this section are four poems by Sergei Esenin, whose poems have the virtue of bridging the gap between high and low culture through their simplicity and clarity. Since Esenin was something of a celebrity in his time (one of his wives was Isadora Duncan), his attraction to men has not been acknowledged in his official biographies until recently. Here are some lines from a poem he wrote to one of his lovers, Anatoly Mariegof: There's crazy happiness in friendship And the convulsion of wild passions- The fire melts the body down As if it were a stearine candle. Oh my beloved! Give me your hands- I'm not used to doing it any other way- I want to wash them at this time of parting With the yellow foam of my hair. Ah, Tolya, Tolya, it is you, it is you, For one more moment, one more time- The circles of unmoving eyes Have grown still again like milk. (156) There is a great deal of physicality and passion here. It seems too that there is a reference to man to man lovemaking in the third stanza.
The literature of course shows this. There are many stories of gang rape, betrayal and self- loathing. All too often, when lovers would break up during this period, one would let thuggish men, about town or in the army company, know that the other was homosexual and beatings, gang rape and perhaps even a prison sentence would follow. Relationships between men were rare and short-lived when they did manage to come into existence. Not surprisingly, there is very little gay literature produced within Russia during this period. Instead, we have diaries from within the country and literary production from the émigré population. Anatoly Steiger (1907-1944), though he wrote the following poem in Paris, suggests how melancholy a time it must have been: Where is he now, I wonder? And what's his life like? Don't let me sit by the door Expecting a sudden knock: He will never come back. Was it to hurt me, or himself? (Or maybe he was lucky.)(171)
The fourth and final section of Out of the Blue, "Gay Life Reborn in the New Russia," documents the birth of a modern gay culture. But it is a culture that is still finding its way. It has had barely any time to put distance between itself and the extreme oppression it was under until very recently. This means, then, that many of the selections handle themes of betrayal and self-loathing.
The army and prison loom large. Rape and intimidation are common. In a selection of letters to the editor from two recently established gay journals, "Tema" and "1/10," there are a number of heartbreaking stories. But there are also some funny letters that show a Russia waking up to sex. Here is one example: Please explain to me what is the name of the kind of homosexuality I practice-I really love to lick my wife's clitoris. Please respond. I am 50 years old. Nizhny Novgorod. (245) Clearly we have evidence in this letter that homosexuality is the term that designates all perversion. While that is an index of how far the gay movement has to go in Russia, nevertheless it is a hopeful sign that verbalization is replacing what used to be complete silence. The conclusion of another letter sounds a modern sex affirmative note. In this letter, a young man named Mystschi is rejecting another young man (a prostitute) who seems stuck in the older model of homosexual self-loathing and alienation from the body (the other man speaks first):
"In general I have done it...but I don't get any pleasure out of it."
I sit down next to him, "And how often?" "10 or 15 times a day, but that's for money, and when men fuck me, I don't get a hard on." "When you do, then come back." And with a clear conscience I set off for the passageway. From this encounter I've made the following remarkable conclusion: if you're being fucked and don't get a hard-on it means you're not gay. (237) In summation, Out of the Blue is of great interest because it really suggests what the experience of gay men in Russia has been, and shows the reader the beginnings of the new gay culture. Mark Anthony Masterson is Ph.D. student in Classics at the University of Southern California. He is conducting research on the construction of masculinity and sexuality in the fourth century CE Roman Empire. He also is a member of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educators' Network. Courtesy of One Institute |
Poster from the Soviet-produced film Hot Blooded 
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