Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has given free rein to Russian homophobes. Without concern for the international community, the authorities are intensifying repression against LGBTQ+ people, targeting not only known activists but sometimes random individuals as well.
They have started to be left in detention centres until the second trial, waiting periods already running into months when you have to live with homophobes and no medication.
Cage in the Russian courts will be witness the first case, when the organizers of a drag show will be imprisoned for extremism.
Historian Dan Healey on the evolution of attitudes towards homosexuality, the likelihood of a global right turn and the prospects for Russian queers
