Alexey is an office worker at day and a dancer at night. His sister is the only one of his family members who knows he is gay. “I could never tell my parents or brothers. I just don’t think they need to know.” In a country where extremely conservative values are on the rise, coming out is not an option - not even to one’s closest relatives. 

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Out of the dozen people whose lives I followed over the course of the past few years, 5 people have fled from Russia and Ukraine to escape discrimination, persecution and even torture. 

When starting this project in 2016 I hoped I would see a different Russia four years later but the change for the better is yet to come.

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In July 2019 LGBT activist Yelena Grigoryeva was brutally murdered in her hometown Saint Petersburg. Journalist Yelena Milashina, who exposed the kidnap and torture of gay Chechen men was attacked on a work trip in Chechenya in February 2020.