From the work by Professor Dr. Igor S. Kon

The sexual revolution in Russia: From the Age of the Czars to Today.

It is usually thought that the Bolshevik crusade against sex began in the 1930s, as a part of the general process of Stalinist tightening of the screws on and suppression of the individual – and there is an element of truth in that contention. During the 1920s the USSR had allowed the existence of erotic art, sociological surveys, and biological-medical sex research. However, all of this, and particularly the “decadent” erotic art that was clearly at odds with “proletarian culture”, existed and developed despite the efforts of rather than with endorsement of the Party. It was simply that, given the times, the Party was unable to ban them and had to confine itself to half measures.

Nevertheless, it did combat them when it could. For example, in July 1924, a jount circular was issued by Glavlit (the censor’s office) and Glavrepertkom (the Main Committee for Control over Repertories and Performance), giving the following evaluation of the fox-trot, shimmy, and other popular Western dances that Russian young people had begun to copy: “As products of Western European restaurant culture, these dances are oriented on the very basest instincts. In their niggardly, monotonous movements they are essentially a ’salon’ imitation of the sex act and all manner of physiological perversion… Within the working atmosphere of the Soviet Republic’s attempts to reconstruct life and sweep away rotten petit-bourgeois decadence, dancing should be quite different – exhilarating, joyful, ennobling.”
This was only the opening salvo. The entire history of Soviet culture, from start to finish, consists of out-and-out campaigns and mandates in which sexophobia plays a leading part…

Read more

In the 1920s and 1930s hundreds of American socialists, blacks seeking a society free from racism, Jews who had fled the tsarist pogroms, Russian immigrants and their children, ordinary workers and recent college graduates were fascinated by the Soviet experiment. Between 1920 and 1925 nearly 22,000 American and Canadian men, women and families moved to Russia intending to remain there (Paula Garb, “They Came to Stay: North Americans in the USSR”). These idealistic Americans who went off to the USSR to build the world of the future were quickly introduced to Russian reality – and to Russian romance.

Read more

Before the revolution Bolsheviks had no define policy in regard to sexuality. The “sex issue” was for them mainly economic and sociopolitical and essentially boiled down to the problem of emancipating women and overcoming gender inequality. Sexuality was mentioned only in passing, especially in relation to the family.

Soviet legislation and social policy on issues of marriage and procreation in the 1920s were the most daringly progressive in the world. As early as 1918, women were accorded full equal rights with men in all and privet areas, including marriage and family relations. Women had the right…

Unfortunately, the realities of life that confronted the Bolsheviks immediately after revolution  were much more difficult than they had anticipated…

And the costs associated with the subsequent breakdown in marriage and family patterns – unwanted pregnancies, fatherless children, prostitution, the spread of venereal diseases – were great and provoked mounting concern…

Read more about the Soviet Sexual Revolution

My dear fellow citizens of Russia!

You are no doubt well aware of the tragedy of South Ossetia. The night-time execution-style bombardment of Tskhinvali by the Georgian troops resulted in the deaths of hundreds of our civilians. Among the dead were the Russian peacekeepers, who gave their lives in fulfilling their duty to protect women, children and the elderly.

The Georgian leadership, in violation of the U.N. Charter and their obligations under international agreements and contrary to the voice of reason, unleashed an armed conflict victimizing innocent civilians. The same fate lay in store for Abkhazia. Obviously, they in Tbilisi hoped for a blitzkrieg that would have confronted the world community with an accomplished fact. The most inhuman way was chosen to achieve the objective — annexing South Ossetia through the annihilation of a whole people.

That was not the first attempt to do this. In 1991, President Gamsakhurdia of Georgia, having proclaimed the motto “Georgia for Georgians” — just think about it! — ordered attacks on the cities of Sukhumi and Tskhinvali. The result then was thousands of killed people, dozens of thousands of refugees and devastated villages. And it was Russia who at that time put an end to the eradication of the Abkhaz and Ossetian peoples. Our country came forward as a mediator and peacekeeper insisting on a political settlement. In doing so we were invariably guided by the recognition of Georgia’s territorial integrity.

The Georgian leadership chose another way. Disrupting the negotiating process, ignoring the agreements achieved, committing political and military provocations, attacking the peacekeepers — all these actions grossly violated the regime established in conflict zones with the support of the United Nations and O.S.C.E [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe].

Russia continually displayed calm and patience. We repeatedly called for returning to the negotiating table and did not deviate from this position of ours even after the unilateral proclamation of Kosovo’s independence. However our persistent proposals to the Georgian side to conclude agreements with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the non-use of force remained unanswered. Regrettably, they were ignored also by NATO and even at the United Nations.

It stands quite clear now: a peaceful resolution of the conflict was not part of Tbilisi’s plan. The Georgian leadership was methodically preparing for war, while the political and material support provided by their foreign guardians only served to reinforce the perception of their own impunity.

Tbilisi made its choice during the night of Aug. 8, 2008. Saakashvili opted for genocide to accomplish his political objectives. By doing so he himself dashed all the hopes for the peaceful coexistence of Ossetians, Abkhazians and Georgians in a single state. The peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have several times spoken out at referendums in favor of independence for their republics. It is our understanding that after what has happened in Tskhinvali and what has been planned for Abkhazia they have the right to decide their destiny by themselves.

The Presidents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, based on the results of the referendums conducted and on the decisions taken by the Parliaments of the two republics, appealed to Russia to recognize the state sovereignty of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Federation Council and the State Duma voted in support of those appeals.

A decision needs to be taken based on the situation on the ground. Considering the freely expressed will of the Ossetian and Abkhaz peoples and being guided by the provisions of the U.N. Charter, the 1970 Declaration on the Principles of International Law Governing Friendly Relations Between States, the C.S.C.E. Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and other fundamental international instruments, I signed Decrees on the recognition by the Russian Federation of South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s independence.

Russia calls on other states to follow its example. This is not an easy choice to make, but it represents the only possibility to save human lives.

Georgia – the war against the unrecognized Republic of South Ossetia.