Thread by @UncolaMD

The USSR under Lenin was the world leader in gay rights and gender corrective surgery for more than a decade. Before Stalin rolled back certain laws in the 30's, queer liberation was understood as “part of the revolution."

1/🧵

Myth: "Russia never intentionally decriminalised homosexuality, they just revoked tsarist laws!"

Reality: Homosexuality was legalised in the RSFSR Penal Code of 1922, then AGAIN in 1926. Worth noting, however, this only applied to RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR.

This is Nikolai Semashko, the first People's Commissar of Public Health for the USSR. He's responsible for the introduction of world's first universal healthcare system, refereed to as the Semashko model.

He was also one of the earliest supporters for Soviet queer emancipation.

During his time in office Semashko sent delegations to international conferences on human sexuality as well as the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, the world's first transgender surgery clinic.

History buffs might know it as the place Nazis used for their first book burning.

During a visit, Semashko noted how pleased he was that in the new Russia the penalty against gays has been abolished, adding "no unhappy consequences have resulted from the elimination, nor has the wish that the penalty in question be reintroduced has been raised in any quarter."

Another supporter was Dr. Grigorii Batkis, director of the Institute for Social Hygiene in Moscow. In his 1925 report 'The Sexual Revolution in Russia' stated queer relationships weren't only normal, but should be legally respected, noting Russia differed from the rest of Europe.

As part of her work towards social reform, People's Commissar for Welfare (and close friend of Lenin) Alexandra Kollontai was also a vocal advocate for queer liberation, arguing that true socialism could never be achieved without a radical change in attitudes towards sexuality.

As soon as gender corrective surgery became available in Russia, Soviet practitioners were inundated with inquiries from ordinary Russians who had fought with their own bodies for their whole lives and finally saw a means of resolution. Same-sex marriage recognition followed suit

One such case was Evgenii Fedorovich, born female and began identifying as male from age 17. His chosen gender was recognised by Soviet courts without issue, even when he married. He also served diligently as an agent of the Cheka.

Yes, that Cheka.

An important disclaimer, however, is that the national attitude towards gay and trans people wasn't unanimously supportive. While many were sympathetic or ambivalent, there was a faction of the Bolsheviks who wanted it outlawed again.

Among them was this guy. You might know him.

Stalin personally demanded the introduction of an anti-gay law in response to a report from NKVD chief Genrikh Yagoda, who had conducted a raid on the residence of hundreds of homosexuals in Moscow and Leningrad in 1933, labelling them 'pederasts'. Sound familiar?

On 7 March 1934, Article 121 was added to the USSR criminal code, outlawing homosexuality all over again. Justice Commissar Nikolai Krylenko added fuel to the fire by linking gay and trans people to 'the remnants of enemies' - products of fascism and bourgeois decadence.

This is the root of modern reactionary positions towards LGBT+ matters in communist discourse, especially from groups like the patsocs, nazbols and other goofy chauvinist sects. Claiming trans rights has no place in marxism ignores history.

tl;dr - the USSR was pro-LGBT+, directly legalising homosexuality and becoming a world leader in trans surgeries before Stalin reversed it. Ignoring the historical sympathies and advances made on their behalf is undialectical and dogmatic.

Sources (1/?):
• Dan Healy (2001) "Homosexual desire in revolutionary Russia: The regulation of sexual and gender dissent." (University of Chicago Press)
• Dr. Grigory Batkis (1923) "The Sexual Revolution in Russia" translated from German marxist.com/the-sexual-rev…

• Leslie Feinberg (2004) ""Can a homosexual be a member of the Communist Party?" (Workers World newspaper)
• Marco Helmbrecht and Niko Weber (2022) "Marxism, Stalinism, and Queerphobia" (Left Voice)

• Barbara Clements, Rebecca Friedman and Dan Healy (2002) "Russian Masculinities in History and Culture" (Palgrave Macmillan)
• Stefan Guzvica (2022) "What Happened When a Gay Communist Wrote to Stalin" (published via TheCollector)

• Fred Weston (2018) "Bolshevik decriminalisation of homosexuality – intentional or oversight?"
• Alexandra Kollontai (1921) "Sexual Relations and the Class Struggle" (Allison & Busby 1977)marxist.com/bolshevik-decr…

@MarxismAnd Why did they continue offering treatment and legal recognition of gender transition and homosexual relationships until 1933, too?

@FamousPlan You mean him personally ordering homosexuality outlawed? It's mentioned in the sources by Healy and Feinberg. There's also this Russian research paper.
cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kont…

There's also this writeup by Olga Khoroshilova, Assistant Professor of St. Petersburg State University, that goes into detail on how queer people in Russia were still persecuted despite their new legal status.
bbc.com/news/world-eur…

Hey Haz! So brave of you to subtweet this instead of replying directly! Is it because you had no better argument other than abstracting the persecution into "analogous reasoning"? 🤔

Saying a popular tweet you don't like is 'botted' is bitchmade behaviour

https://twitter.com/InfraHaz/status/1675649634398613506

Yes, the fact they offered legal recognition of trans people and didn't criminalise it twice in a row infers it's an intentional decision. Glad you caught up with the rest of the class!

Bro really out here saying the Lenin Constitution "wasn''t finished"

https://twitter.com/InfraHaz/status/1675650443836260353