Studying abroad comes with a lot of worries, but fear of prosecution usually is not one of them. However, LGBT students who study abroad in Russia do not have the same legal protections and social comforts provided in the United States.
Robert, a senior in the School of International Service, who identifies as bisexual said he faced challenges of prejudice while studying abroad in Saint Petersburg, Russia last fall. Robert’s real name has been changed to protect his identity.
He encountered conflicting views from Russians during his semester-long stay as many claimed to support gay rights, but demonstrated negative attitudes toward the LGBT community.
“They (Russians) were like ‘Oh yeah we know that they exist and it is OK for them to be here [but when] I know that they are in the same room as me I just like leave,’” Robert said, imitating a conversation he and a few friends once overhead at a local bar. “I was like ‘Really?’ We had to walk away.”
Roughly 74 percent of Russians do not think homosexuality should be accepted by society while the remaining 16 percent believe otherwise, according to a 2013 Pew Research poll.
Robert first became interested in studying abroad in Saint Petersburg after taking Russian language courses in high school. His family also has roots in a country from the former Soviet Union, and wanted to learn about its culture.
Robert said he is open about his sexuality with close friends in the U.S., but chooses not tell many other people. However, he chose to reveal his bisexuality only to the American students in his study abroad program, not to other Russian students and staff.
But he was not the only LGBT individual in the group.
One of Robert’s friends, a lesbian student who was open about her sexuality while studying in Saint Petersburg, had written a research paper on anti-LGBT attitudes in the former Soviet Union. When she showed her paper to a Russian student for peer tutor revising, the student refused to read it.
“‘I can’t help you with this… this isn’t something that we talk about,’” Robert said, quoting the Russian student’s reaction to her paper.
Although students who were open about their sexuality made some Russian professors uncomfortable, they were not treated any different in the classroom.
“[Most professors had the mindset of] ‘they are American, it is different… it’s okay for them but not for us,’” Robert said.
Saint Petersburg passed an anti-gay law the summer before Robert’s trip, which outlawed publicly promoting LGBT activity, according to ABC News.
Although many protests against this law were held in Russia, Robert said he chose not to participate because he did not want to impose his beliefs on Russians.
“While I do have an opinion on the issue…I was more there for the language and the culture rather than to change it,” Robert said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed similar legislation into law this June, causing concern for athletes and spectators who might violate the law at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Robert compared the Russian attitude to those in America who claim tolerance of gay people, but act otherwise.
“Sometimes people say [in America] ‘everyone supports the gays,’ but no one wants to have one in their family while [in Russia] it is like ‘everyone supports them but they don’t want to know one’, like they don’t want to be near one,” he said.
On his way to Moscow, Robert befriended a Russian man who he later friend requested on Facebook. On his profile, Robert discovered the new friend listed himself as interested in men and women on Facebook.
When Robert later brought this up in conversation, he joked that they were “playing for the same team.” The Russian friend said his English was poor and was not aware what being interested in men on Facebook meant.
Robert then described how the Russian friend began to panic about how the Russian government might react.
“We’re still friends, we still talk,” he said. “But it was just funny how big of a deal it was.”
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