Celebrating 5 years behind. Kvir magazine prints the 60th issue.

The 60th (jubilee) number of the most popular Russian LGBT periodical "Kvir" ("Queer") has been published early this month. In September 2008 "Kvir" celebrates its fifth anniversary!
We would like to remind you that the pilot issue of "Kvir" came out in August 2003, while the next issue was on sale in all Moscow's gay clubs only one month later.
The charity foundation "Together" was the publisher. According to the data obtained from the Russian Union of the Press Distributors, in just a year, being freely distributed via general distribution networks, in 2005 and 2007 the magazine succeeded to outrun several times in sales such glossy press brands as "The GQ" and others. Entire pages of the British "The Times", "The Independent" and Italian "La Repubblica" were dedicated to the first Russian gay glossy magazine.
"Had I known what difficulties I were to face, I would have never published "Kvir", says Ed Mishin, its publisher. "It was a huge scope of work, finance and other hardships. I had to be up against a blank wall... Just imagine, we bring the magazine to distributors, but they say: "We won't put it on sale". Even incentives were not accepted". On the Russian market there's a number of companies, some of them are being known as the key players in this sector of the market, declaring that they do not want to deal with gay-related editions". "It is of no importance for us that your magazine is not an erotic one and that you have for every edition of your periodical the official resolution of the Experts Council stating that "Kvir" is a good, correct periodical and can be distributed freely."
Later Ed Mishin was in general satisfied how things were going with the "Kvir". "New authors want to work with us. Well known journalists, not only gay, quite easily agree to work in our team. And I think that with the authors it would be somewhat easier (to work with). But from the general point of view on the project as a whole, certainly, it is still very difficult because even now we have to bend much effort to jump over hurdles...".
Gennady Trifonov, a writer and a poet from Saint-Petersburg, reflects, "It would be a serious mistake to consider that "Kvir" popularizes homosexuality in a meaning that homophobes and other people with evident mental deviations are used to know. I work with the "Kvir" since 2005 and I can confirm how seriously the articles, sent to the editorial from various authors that dream of being published in it, are selected and approved for printing. A serious barrier is given by the Editorial to any platitude, scabrousness, cheap sensations and demi-monde gossips. I think, the best publications of "Kvir" are subordinated to the Hellenic paedagogical Eros and published here verses, prose and pamphletes are permeated with the air of Antiquity - the Golden time of Humanity. That's why I refused the proposals to publish with from other russian magazines even for a good sum of money. Even in the "Kontinent" ("Continent") I do not show up for a long time. What for? The reader of the "Kvir" is my near, dear and understanding friend.
KVIR project page (in English) >>
Buy KVIR Magazine (in Russian) >>
Translation by Yerdna Bananes

http://english.gay.ru/news/rainbow/2008/07/02-13433.htm

Premiere Screening of Film about a "Happy Lesbian Family" Included in the "Festival of Festivals - 2006"

2006/06/21. On June 25th and 27th, in conjunction with the "14th Annual St. Petersburg International Film Festival Festival of Festivals - 2006", the documentary film "My Happy Family" will receive its debut.

The project, which was envisioned in early 2004 by a St. Petersburg lesbian organization "Labris," conveys the everyday life of one lesbian family, who is preparing for the imminent birth of a baby.

"My Happy Family" is Russia's first documentary film to tackle the question of motherhood in a lesbian family. The heroines of the film candidly portray their home lives and relate their wrestle to attain their dream of having kids. Another unseen, yet constantly present, person takes part in the lives of these future mothers - their unborn child. He struggles to make a decision about whether these two loving women can become his parents.

For some time the project's creators kept the name of the film's director a secret. It has now come to light that it is the independent documentarian from St. Petersburg, Ekaterina Kharlamova. Ms. Kharlamova's films have been regular participants in various international festivals. To date "Text, or Apologetic Commentaries" (based on anecdotes and jokes from Faina Ranevskaya and a novella by Vladimir Nabokov A Forgotten Poet") has been her most critically acclaimed film, winning a number of awards. In 2001, her works were selected for Berlin Film Festival in its "Forum" program.

english.gay.ru

Parade Divides Russian Gays

2006/05/24. The Indigo Bookstore is a little piece of gay pride right in the heart of Moscow. The shop has been open for a year, offering books, clothing, magazines and gifts. It’s a quiet corner for Russia’s small but growing gay community.

Business is growing, and the store has never had any major hassles from anti-gay groups. But the staff has asked for extra security, because they’re worried that the store could become a target for attack after the first-ever gay pride parade is held in Moscow on Saturday.

"This gay parade is actually making our life much tougher," says Ed Mishin, one of the founders of Indigo. "This is the first time in my life actually that people are scared of being gay in Moscow."

The march will take place as part of a two-day conference on homophobia in Russia. It’s timed to the 13th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia by then-president Boris Yeltsin. In Soviet times, homosexual activity was illegal.

"We are going to check what's the level of tolerance - not only of the society by also of the authorities," says Nikolai Alekseyev, the organizer of the march and the conference.

He knows discrimination against gays firsthand - having left Moscow State University because professors would not allow him to write a major paper about homosexuality.

He says that above all, the gay parade will be a human rights action. "We want to give [Russians] a message - that we are the same citizens as you are," says Alekseyev. "We are absolutely the same and want the same rights."

The ironic thing about the parade is that it's actually tearing apart the very community it's supposed to be bringing together. Many of the biggest opponents of the gay parade are gay themselves.

Mishin, who also edits the gay magazine Kvir and runs the Gay.Ru Web site, says the parade won't bring anything but unwanted attention to gays.

"All Russian gay and lesbian organizations are against it, I would say," says Mishin. "There is no exception. Only foreigners are going to participate in this parade.

"We think there are other ways to fight homophobia in this society," he adds,

Moscow city officials don’t see the need either; they have banned the event. "The Moscow government is not even going to consider allowing a gay parade," said Sergei Tsoi, press secretary to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Tsoi claimed that the event has "evoked outrage in society, in particular among religious leaders."

Some federal authorities also have criticized the idea of the gay parade.

"If they want to hold their orgy, let them hold it somewhere away from Moscow, at a specially designated place," Deputy Irina Savelieva told a meeting of the Russian parliament last week. "I think it is high time to stop displaying political correctness and allowing scum to defile the center of Moscow."

That sort of language hasn’t phased organizers, who say they will hold the parade anyway. Alekseyev cites a constitutional right to assemble in the Russian constitution as their basis for ignoring the ban.

He said 500 people had registered for the conference, but it was unclear how many might show up for the parade. The number doesn’t really matter, according to Alekseyev. "What is the most important is that some people are not scared, and the go on the street and express themselves," he says.

Alekseyev says marchers will try to gather on a square right outside the headquarters of the former KGB on Saturday. But it’s not yet clear if Moscow police will try to stop the demonstration if it happens.

The parade may leave people bursting with pride, or with their hopes deflated.


By Beth Knobel
© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved

Series of Gay Prose to be Published in Russia

2006/04/17. In April publisher "Kvir" (Queer), well known for its gay magazine of the same name, introduces 3 books in a series entitled "Dark Walkways."

This is the second attempt to publish a series of books aimed at the homosexual population. At the end of 2000 the "Thematic Series" was offered by Kolonna Publications only to later be terminated as recently many writers have become leery of being published under a "gay prose" label.

Opening the series "Dark Walkways" is a collection of prose from Saint Petersburg author Gennady Trifonov (born 1945) "the most refined, most mournful and most amorous poet" of the 1970s. In 1976 he was sentenced for violation of Statute 121 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for bedding men" and survived four separate prisons and three prison camps. Contained in the collection are the novel "The Net," about the love of two adolescents in a Soviet prison, and the novel "Lyova."

The protagonist of "Lyova" has "lived for some time in the USA. It was the only thing I could do for him. In Russia he would have perished," confesses Trifonov. The novel tells the story of how a man and a youngster learn to be friends, understand and love one another. Often, for the latter, strength and resoluteness, capable of destroying the barriers of societal stereotypes, are lacking.

The author of the second book, Constantine Kostenko (born 1966), lives on the other side of the Ural Mountains. He is a playwright and self-taught literary scholar who has written more than 20 plays, the most famous of which, "Claustrophobia," is about homosexual rape in prison. Also included in the series is his narrative "Copulation with God," about the life of young gays from the Russia's Far East.

And, finally, the third book, entitled "Bunking with Commanders" by Valery Bondarenko (born 1958) is comprised of compositions dedicated to gay relations in the army. The author considers this "symbolic, as nowhere do the right to be yourself and the laws of nature enter into such an appalling contradiction with the expectations of our still dense and sluggish-to-recognize-anything-good society as they do in the army."

During 2006 under the "Dark Walkways" series, the publisher "Kvir" (Queer) will publish 12 books in all, the authors of which are either gay or write about and for gays. A few of these writers live abroad in Europe and in the US.

english.gay.ru

Moscow Gay-Lesbian Culture Festival "Rainbow Without Boundaries". 1-5 may, 2006

Moscow Gay-Lesbian Culture Festival "Rainbow Without Boundaries". 1-5 may, 2006

2006/02/19. Press-conference for the Festival organizers and participants will take place on 28-th April, 2006. Mass Media will be advised of exact time and place of Festival holding in addition later.

1 DAY
Day of Gay-Lesbian Literature and Public Press.
Presentation of books, magazines, newspapers; meetings with authors.

Day of Gay-Lesbian Publicity.
Demonstration of original publicity films on gay-lesbian culture, having been collected all over the world.
Fashion show of jeans clothes.

Opening of Photo Exhibition " Open THEME".
Works of professional photographers from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities will be presented.

2 DAY
Bard-Song Festival "No Orientation".
Singers, authors of the songs, from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ulyanovsk, Petrozavodsk, Samara, other Russian cities and the Ukraine will take part in the Festival.

3 DAY
Literary-Theatrical Festival.
Performances of the Theatre-Studio "BILITIS", Creative Club "Ladder" (St. Petersburg).
Literary concert of the Publishing House "Labrys"

4 DAY
5-th Russian Lesbian Conference "SHE+SHE". Topic: "Coming out".
Homosexual coming out in modern Russia.

Night Entertaining Show.
Information about the event will be given later.

5 DAY
Seminar for Mass Media "Myths and Stereotypes about Sex Minorities".
Target: myth dethronement and creating of adequate gay and lesbian image in participants’ minds.

Press Conference on the Festival Results.

Festival Organizers:



Charity Fund "Rainbow"
Organization "LesbiPARTY"
Organization "PinkStar"

FESTIVAL PARTICIPANTS:

Organizations


Charity fund "Rainbow".
All-Russian lesbian organization "PinkStar".
Russian National GLBT Center "Together".
Karelian department of public organization "Circle".
Independant non-commercial women organization "Tolerance".
Publishing house "Labrys".
Creative union of socially active lesbians "LesbiPARTY".
Creative club "Ladder".

Net Projects and Mass Media


Newspaper for non-standard women "L"
E-magazine for gays and lesbians "Gayclub.Ru"
Gay Magazine "One of Us" (The Ukraine)
Gay Magazine "Kvir".
Russian national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual server Gay.Ru.
Site Youla.Ru.
Russian travesty site Travesty.Ru.
Russian national lesbian server Lesbi.Ru.
Theme portal Labrys.Ru.
Site Lestnica-club.Ru.
Official site of the organization "Pinkstar" – Pinkstar.Ru.
Law information agency "LINA"
One of the largest international acquaintance portals Qguys.Ru.
Official site of the organization "LesbiPARTY" – Lesbiparty.Org.Ru.

Internet projects, art projects, initiative groups, organizations, authors, artists, designers and everybody who is interested in the Event are welcome to join the program and take part in the Festival.

Additional details about the Festival will follow with the renovation of the information.


Pinkstar.Ru, info@lesbiparty.org.ru, osuvorova@pinkstar.ru.