The Queer Russian photographer who made global headlines in the 90s

18th November 2022, 11:30 am

 

Slava Mogutin left Siberia at 14 and became a prominent LGBTQ activist before such a term was commonplace.

 

 

At the age of 14, Slava Mogutin left his family and set off on a journey that would forever change the course of his life. He travelled from Siberia to Moscow, where he embarked on a career as a writer and journalist during the final years of the Soviet Union. The only openly Gay personality in the Russian media, Slava confronted the taboos against homosexuality — a stance that made him the target for attack in two highly publicised criminal cases. Although he was charged with “malicious hooliganism with exceptional cynicism and extreme insolence,” he refused to back down.

In 1994, Slava made headlines around the globe when he tried to officially register the first same-sex marriage in Russia with his then-partner, American artist Robert Filippini. “It’s only now that I realised how crazy and brave what I was doing in Russia was,” Slava says. “At the time, I didn’t even like the term ‘Gay activist’, but what I did as an artist was my political activism and I could never separate the two.”

Durk Dehner photographed by Slava Mogutin at TOM House, 2021

Fearlessly confronting the power structure in both the court of law and the court of public opinion, Slava made his voice heard and shone a light on so many who were systemically marginalised and discriminated against. “The fact that what I was doing was very straightforward, my heartfelt intention resonated with a lot of people because I wasn’t trying to capitalise on controversy.” Slava wanted to put a human face on a community long subject to misinformation and erasure.

At a time when few were willing to come forward and go on record, Slava did just this, and consequently was subject to increased attacks by the authorities. In 1995, at the age of 21, Slava was forced to flee and became the first Russian granted political asylum in the United States on the grounds of homophobic persecution. “I was fortunate that the system didn’t destroy me,” Slava says. “Unfortunately, this is something you see and hear about day after day after day, especially in light of current events in Russia and Ukraine. Gay rights are going backwards — but despite all the censorship, repression and discrimination, I still have a substantial following in Russia and countries where homosexuality is still being persecuted.”

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Published: 18th November 2022

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