Epilogue

This epilogue reflects on what has changed and what has remained the same with respect to the LGBT landscape in post-Soviet Russia. It begins with a discussion of the death of Igor' Kon, an academic, public intellectual, and activist who played a key role in efforts to depathologize homosexuality in post-Soviet space. It then considers Russian politics and how Russian gay men have remained apolitical in their stances, along with their reactions to the Legislation against Gay Propaganda passed in 2013. It also examines the proliferation of websites addressed to gay and lesbian audiences and how the dramatic growth in internet accessibility has impacted homosexual men. Furthermore, it highlights the increase in sounds and images of some of Russia's popular music performers of (assumed) netraditsionnaia orientatsiia, as well as the ways in which they present the (homo)eroticized male body. The epilogue ends by focusing on Russian activists' campaign to have a gay parade celebrated in the country and suggests that popular music may be regarded as Russia's gay parade.