Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia: The Regulation of Sexual and Gender Dissent [Hardcover]

Dan Healey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0226322335 | ISBN-13: 978-0226322339 | Edition: 1

The first full-length study of same-sex love in any period of Russian or Soviet history, Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia investigates the private worlds of sexual dissidents during the pivotal decades before and after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Using records and archives available to researchers only since the fall of Communism, Dan Healey revisits the rich homosexual subcultures of St. Petersburg and Moscow, illustrating the ambiguous attitude of the late Tsarist regime and revolutionary rulers toward gay men and lesbians. Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia reveals a world of ordinary Russians who lived extraordinary lives and records the voices of a long-silenced minority.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The first full-length study of same-sex love in any period of Russian or Soviet history, Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia investigates the private worlds of sexual dissidents during the pivotal decades before and after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Using records and archives available to researchers only since the fall of Communism, Dan Healey revisits the rich homosexual subcultures of St. Petersburg and Moscow, illustrating the ambiguous attitude of the late Tsarist regime and revolutionary rulers toward gay men and lesbians. Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia reveals a world of ordinary Russians who lived extraordinary lives and records the voices of a long-silenced minority.

About the Author

Dan Healey is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Wales Swansea in the United Kingdom.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226322335
• ISBN-13: 978-0226322339
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical Academic work, January 13, 2012

By 

Mikey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia: The Regulation of Sexual and Gender Dissent (Hardcover)

If your a college professor or a historian looking for an honest and accurate portrayal of LGBT people in early 20th century Russia; this book is for you.

The sources are cited, the I's are dotted, and the T's crossed. I spent $30 on this book which is really expensive for me. I could read it all right but it really is more or less an academic book than a typical nonfiction book. I wouldn't recommend it for leisure.

Personally I found that the author focused too much on homosexuality in the pre-Revolutionary era. The background research was well done and quite extensive but there seemed to be more material on Czarist Russia than there was during the time of the Soviets and provisional government.

The author spends way too much time on legal concepts and sodomy laws than he does actually explaining the life of gays and lesbians under the revolution.

At its worse this is just a legal history reference to homosexuality under the Russians.

At it's best this a well researched and thoughtful account into the situation of LGBT people in revolutionary Russia.