this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
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I get why people talk about this in this way, but I think it's a mistake to ascribe intent to this when the decriminalization was a by product of doing away with the Tsarist legal code entirely. There are other instances of socialist states actively pursuing a policy in the direction of queer liberation (earlier and more comprehensive than even modern Western states), such as the GDR in the 80's and Cuba with their new constitution, but unfortunately the Soviet Union was not one of them.
While this is true, as far as I know, it still led to less persecution because there wasn't a legal framework for such thing, so I guess worst case scenario it was fortunate happenstance.
Yeah good read on this but it should be said the period of time where being gay was decriminalized in the USSR did last about a decade, and in that time period LGBT+ people where actually left alone for the most part. I always read this time period of one of knowing tolerance by the upper soviet leadership, as they likely did not act on it because they actually did want lgbt issues to be decriminalized. I am making this assumption due to the slow pace they moved on this topic and that they where an educated class who could read; it was them having to contend with Stalin being a orthdox christian (he was literally born in a manger to a priests family) and 99% of Russia also being this, they had to make populist concessions in the 30s in order to recover from famines.
I traced Russias lgbt+ phobic outlook to the implementation of the Tsar; prior to this in pre-monarchy Russia it was noted by many historians and accounts that the Russian people where openly gay, lesbian and poly; it was the monarchy that implemented orthodox theocratic teachings in order to secure better trade deals with the christian west, and then beaten into them over 500 years.
I know Stalin was Christian at one point, even studying at a seminary to become a priest, but was he still Christian by the time he was general secretary?
Yeah reading more into the struggles the USSR had with the orthodox church you're right to say that Stalin 100% ditched this outlook by the 1930s as he was calling for state athiesm in the 1930s and kept trying to purge the 'reactionary' orthdox church members from positions of infulence.
I am wrong to say that the direction of this was because of fears of Stalins orthodoxy, my mistake.
The key thing though to take away was, that he mostly failed; Russia was just that much orthodox. The key points where how he made concessions like recriminalizing abortion in the 1930s; not a position he likely would have wanted to do due to his ideological position, but one he had to do to maintain a cohesive country.
That doesn't match with my readings of the history. Here is a larger article about it. I've also heard mention of a soviet delegation to the famous LGBT clinic in Germany. That wouldn't indicate that it was an oversight either.
Regardless, even under Stalin, I don't think the Soviet Union was demonstrably worse than the west in queer rights . The Soviets didn't reimprison prisoners with pink triangles liberated from concentration camps for example.
Wait, did the other Allies do this??
Yes. Sorry, best source I could find in the time available. But it's true and well documented. West Germany specifically, although other western countries weren't great either.
That is just not true. Homosexuality was absolutely a crime.
my bad for not specifying, i meant the soviet union, anyway, i will be deleting the comment to avoid more misunderstandings
Fwiw I thought you were talking about the Soviets.
so, can you confirm if what i said is true? im not sure myself, just heard somewhere
I have heard the same as you but I haven't really looked into it myself. I'm not sure either.
Edit: if I come across an answer elsewhere, I'll let you know.
I keep seeing the argument that the USSR decriminalizing homosexuality as being a by-product of getting rid of the Tsarist legal system, and while I could very well be wrong, and that may have played a part, I don't buy it at face value. The USSR didn't get rid of every single Tsarist vestige for the sake of it, such as the reprisal of the Gulag system. I think decriminalizing homosexuality was a concerted effort.