A Gay Russian, Exiled in Ireland

A Gay Russian, Exiled in Ireland

Evgeny Shtorn and Alexander Kondakov were living together in St. Petersburg when Vladimir Putin began his crackdown on the L.G.B.T.Q. movement in Russia, passing laws that prevented gay “propaganda.” Kondakov is a scholar of the movement, and Shtorn has studied the sociology of hate crimes against gay men. The couple also worked for an N.G.O. that received foreign funding, which made them appear particularly suspicious to Russian authorities. After Shtorn’s citizenship was rescinded, he became vulnerable to pressure from the F.S.B., the Russian security agency, which tried to make him an informant. Finally Shtorn decided to flee, seeking refuge as a stateless person in Ireland, where Masha Gessen spoke with him. Gessen says that Putin’s recent targeting of L.G.B.T. people is perfectly in line with his methods. “[We] make the perfect scapegoat, because we stand in for everything,” she says. “We stand in for the West. We stand in all the things that have changed in the last quarter century that make you uncomfortable. And, of course, no Russian thinks they’ve ever met a gay person in person—so that makes it really easy to create that image of ‘the villainous queer people.’ ”

This segment originally aired June 10, 2019. Since that time, Shtorn received refugee status, and was reunited with Kondakov in Ireland. They married in 2023.

New Yorker Radio Hour listeners, we want to hear from you. We have a few questions about the show and how you listen to it. The survey takes about twenty minutes, and your feedback will help us make our podcast better. Take the survey here.

Episoder(1021)

How Betting Took Over Sports

How Betting Took Over Sports

Danny Funt has been reporting on the gambling boom for The New Yorker, which has generated startling recent headlines, including the arrest of a former N.B.A. coach and the indictment of two M.L.B. pi...

20 Jan 17min

With the Podcast “I’ve Had It,” Jennifer Welch Goes “Dark Woke” on Politics

With the Podcast “I’ve Had It,” Jennifer Welch Goes “Dark Woke” on Politics

Before becoming a podcaster, Jennifer Welch had a successful career as an interior designer and co-starred in a reality show on Bravo. But, since 2022, she and Angie Sullivan, her co-host on the podca...

16 Jan 32min

Does Every Marriage Need a Prenup?

Does Every Marriage Need a Prenup?

Prenups have gone from a tool of the ultra-wealthy, carrying a whiff of scandal, to a more widespread request for aspirational young couples with few assets. Wilson spoke with celebrity divorce attorn...

13 Jan 18min

Trump’s New Brand of Imperialism

Trump’s New Brand of Imperialism

U.S. intervention in other countries, whether overt or covert, is by no means new, and Daniel Immerwahr notes that the open embrace of expansionism by the President and associates such as Stephen Mill...

9 Jan 31min

Demi Moore Talks with Jia Tolentino

Demi Moore Talks with Jia Tolentino

Since she reëmerged as a star in the 2024 film “The Substance,” Demi Moore has been very busy. She has a major role in the current season of Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman” series, and she has two highly ...

6 Jan 22min

Salsa Star Rubén Blades on Acting, Politics, and the Power of Music

Salsa Star Rubén Blades on Acting, Politics, and the Power of Music

For roughly half a century, the singer Rubén Blades has been spreading the gospel of salsa music to every corner of the globe. “You could say that Blades did for salsa what Bob Marley did for reggae,”...

2 Jan 28min

Elaine Pagels on “The Historical Mystery of Jesus”

Elaine Pagels on “The Historical Mystery of Jesus”

Thirty years ago, David Remnick published “The Devil Problem,” a Profile of the religion scholar Elaine Pagels—a scholar of early Christianity who had also, improbably, become a best-selling author wi...

30 Des 202526min

The Company Behind the A.I. Boom

The Company Behind the A.I. Boom

Across the country, data centers that run A.I. programs are being constructed at a record pace. A large percentage of them use chips built by the tech colossus Nvidia. The company has nearly cornered ...

26 Des 202524min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
forklart
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
det-store-bildet
rss-gukild-johaug
nokon-ma-ga
dine-penger-pengeradet
fotballpodden-2
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
rss-ness
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-dannet-uten-piano
frokostshowet-pa-p5
bt-dokumentar-2