Customer Reviews

Cracks in the Iron Closet: Travels in Gay & Lesbian Russia

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Tuller gives remarkable insights into the modern world of Gay and Lesbian Russia. He takes the reader to a world of transexual lesbians, weekends in the country, and a sexual identity just gestating, waiting to be born. It was very enjoyable reading, and even for the heterosexual reader, it gives excellent insights into the dramatic changes that occured in Russia after 1991 -- all of it explained on a personal level.

as a student in russia and eastern european studies, Tuller's book casts much needed light on the stuggles of gays and lesbians in Russia. it has helped me to more fully understand the russian mind and soul. thank you

Dave Tuller captures the essence of our experience but you sort of had to be there. Remember, this was 1992 Russia. We were followed by KGB the whole time because we dared have a "kiss-in" in front of Moscow City Hall. A whole bunch of gay/bi/straight radicals demanding fair treatment in that environment, it was crazy. He also misses the visit to the AIDS ward where we met people who had not been touched, hugged or kissed since they were locked up. It was heartbreaking.

Dave's a good friend, a good writer, and a great photographer. Well worth reading.

Through a lovely, personal account, Tuller invites the reader to see the West from a Russian point of view. Here, a gay reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle came to Russia to study the so-called gay and lesbian movement there only to fall in love with Ksyusha, a mercurial lesbian. As we too fall in love, Tuller, a sensitive and insightful writer, subtly liberates, allowing human experience to be more mysterious, comic, delicious, and tragic than the acceptance of appearances or the application of trite, political labels permit.