Eastern Queerope: Belarus

Queer theatre in Belarus began as an underground burlesque movement in opposition to the formulaic plays of the late Soviet stage. Over time, however, it evolved to engage deeply with the contemporary issues of Belarusian society, addressing topics such as violence, patriarchal national narratives, and attitudes toward migrants, among others. In this episode, we discuss the unique features of the...

As pressure on GayBelarus activists increased, especially after incidents involving threats from far-right groups, police violence, and the rise of homophobia on Belarusian social media, the activists adapted their actions to ensure safety and foster greater solidarity with audiences of Belarusian independent media. This is how the March in Shabany (2011) and the Pride Tram (2012) came about, both...

When thinking about queer activism, Belarus is not the first country that comes to mind. However, the first Love Parade in the post-Soviet region took place there, making public activism a visible phenomenon. Through interventions, the activists queered urban spaces and created opportunities for LGBTQ+ people to become more visible in the media. What were the activists' goals? How did they eng...

More than 600 people were imprisoned in the BSSR for so-called "muzhelozhstvo" or sodomy from 1934, when the article was introduced into the criminal code, to 1994, when homosexual intercourse between two men was decriminalized in modern Belarus. The history of persecution remains heavily understudied: we have almost no data on lesbians and trans people, and sources on men usually reflec...

During the Middle Ages, Christian morality shaped how people understood their sexuality. The story of Sodom and the punishment of its inhabitants was a common subject of moral teachings and judgments. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a region that absorbed the traditions of Baltic polytheistic rulers, Scandinavian dynasties in the Rus' lands, and the Christian Church, understandings of sexuali...

Rather than seeking to destroy myths or refute heteronormative truths, queer history provides a lens through which we can broaden our understanding of the past, challenge classical interpretations and give a voice to those who have never been heard. In the first episode, Viktsya and Ula discuss the challenges of studying queer history, how they convey the importance of this work to themselves and...