Modern on Uránia

The 1916 Corruption Case of a Secret Society of Gay Officials Who Wore a Golden Winged Penis Badge

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0400

In the spring of 1916, the Russian Empire was going through a severe logistical crisis. After the Great Retreat of 1915, hundreds of thousands of civilians became refugees. They flooded the railway lines, leaving the country’s transport network paralysed. On the fronts of the First World War, soldiers lacked shells, food, and fodder. Cavalry horses received only two pounds of hay a day and died in huge numbers.

The Future President’s Secret Operation: How Franklin Roosevelt Spent a Million Dollars on a Hunt for Gay Men in the Navy

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0300

In 1919 the United States Navy launched a covert operation at its base in Newport, Rhode Island, aimed at sailors suspected of same-sex relations.

A History of Kissing Between Men in Russia

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0300

For a long time, the history of non-heteronormative sexuality and male embodiment in Russia intertwined Orthodox rites, army life, and urban subcultures. Among pre-revolutionary practices, Easter khristosovanie stands out: a triple kiss between men on Bright Sunday, sanctioned by the Church and performed in public.

Aleksey Apukhtin: Homosexual, Poet, and Friend of Tchaikovsky

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0300

Aleksey Nikolayevich Apukhtin is known as the author of poems that became popular romances: “Frenzied Nights, Sleepless Nights” (Nochi bezumnye, nochi bessonnye), “A Pair of Bay Horses” (Para gnedykh), “Does the Day Reign?” (Den li tsarit). Set to music, these texts eventually overshadowed the rest of the poet’s work.

History of Male Homosexuality in Senegal

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0300

Senegal is a country on the westernmost edge of Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The majority of its population practices Islam. Before gaining independence in 1960, Senegal was a French colony, and its capital, Dakar, served as the main center for all of French West Africa. This context is important for the local history of homosexuality: it was precisely in the mixed, port city of Dakar that Europeans most often noticed same-sex relationships and men who adopted female roles.

The Possible Homosexuality of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich of the Romanov Family

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:45:37 +0700

Nikolai Mikhailovich was almost the only Romanov praised both by his contemporaries and by historians of very different political persuasions — left and right alike. Within the family, he stood out as an intellectual who pursued scholarship seriously.

Homoeroticism of the Victorian Era: Male Intimacy in Photographs from the 1850s–1890s from the Herbert Mitchell Collection

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 22:45:37 +0700

The photographs below are mostly amateur studio portraits from the second half of the 19th century, roughly from the 1850s to the 1890s. In them, men pose in close physical contact: embracing, holding hands, placing a hand on a shoulder or on a knee.

Muzhik-Maslenitsa: A Maslenitsa Figure of a Man Dressed as a Woman

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 22:45:37 +0700

Maslenitsa is the Russian name for Cheesefare Week, the last week before Great Lent in the Orthodox calendar. Its date changes every year because it is tied to Pascha, or Easter. During this week meat has already been excluded from the diet, while butter, dairy products, and eggs are still permitted. Blini gradually became the best-known festive food of the season and one of the most recognizable symbols of Maslenitsa.

Was Atatürk Gay or Bisexual?

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 22:45:37 +0700

In this article, we first briefly look at the biography of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, his personality, and his short family life. Then, drawing on memoirs, diplomatic documents, and historians’ works, we trace the origins and evolution of the claim that he may have been homosexual or bisexual.

Andrey Avinoff: A Russian Émigré Artist, Gay Man, and Scientist

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:45:37 +0700

Andrey Avinoff was a Russian entomologist and artist, and a friend of Alfred Kinsey. He was a collector, a connoisseur of beauty, and a gay man, yet he never made his sexuality public. After the Revolution in 1917, Avinoff left Russia for the United States. His homoerotic watercolors were published only in the 21st century.

Russian Poet Ivan Dmitriev, Young Favourites, and Same-Sex Desire in the Fables 'The Two Doves' and 'The Two Friends'

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:45:37 +0700

Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev entered history as a notable sentimentalist poet of the late 18th–early 19th centuries and as a statesman who rose to the post of minister of justice under Alexander I. In official biographies, he appears as a strict, rational administrator. At the same time, sources and the memoir tradition suggest that young, talented men regularly appeared in his circle. His bachelor life, persistent rumors about the nature of his attachments, and the absence of public scandals create the impression of a figure whose private biography may have been deliberately shielded from publicity, yet remains legible through indirect evidence.

Sergei Romanov: A Homosexual Member of the Imperial Family

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 22:45:37 +0700

In the Romanov dynasty (Russia’s ruling imperial family from 1613 to 1917), every adult family member was expected to marry and produce heirs — this was seen as part of one’s duty to both the family and the state. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (a “Grand Duke” was a high-ranking title reserved for close male relatives of the Russian emperor), the brother of Emperor Alexander III, also married, but the couple never had children. The Grand Duke was homosexual.

The Execution of the Siamese Gay Prince Rakronnaret (Kraison): Power and a Charge of Treason

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:10:32 +0700

In 1848, King Rama III of Siam sentenced his friend, Prince Rakronnaret – also known as Kraison – to death. The prince, who was openly in relationships with men, was charged with treason. His execution followed the traditional method reserved for high-ranking individuals: he was placed in a velvet sack and beaten to death with clubs.

Did Swedes Really Take Sick Leave for Homosexuality to Protest or Get Out of Work?

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:10:32 +0700

Until 1979, Sweden officially classified homosexuality as a mental illness, even though it had been legal since 1944. This historical detail is linked to a common misconception that spread online in the early 2010s. According to some posts, large numbers of Swedes supposedly took sick leave by claiming they “felt gay/lesbian,” either as a protest or simply to avoid work.

The Diary of Pyotr Medvedev, a Bisexual Moscow Merchant, 1854–1863

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:45:37 +0700

Information about intimate life in the 19th-century Russian Empire was left primarily by nobles. The diary of Pyotr Vasilyevich Medvedev, a Moscow merchant of the third guild, is a rare exception. From 1854 to 1863, he recorded his thoughts on faith, marriage, the body, desire, and sexual experience – with both men and women. This is the voice of someone outside the elite: a former peasant, a small entrepreneur, a resident of Moscow during the era of the Great Reforms.

Uncensored Russian Folklore: Highlights from Afanasyev’s “Russian Secret Tales”

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 22:45:37 +0700

We chose three adult Russian folk tales to make one point clear: the folklore of our ancestors was far more explicit – and far bolder – than you might expect. Alongside familiar fairy-tale staples like talking animals and magical transformations, these stories openly explore the body, taboo sex (including sex across species), gigantic phalluses, bondage, and even same-sex themes.