Pride and the cost of visibility in Eastern Europe

LGBTQ+ rights and visibility have become a geopolitical issue, associated with the divide between the West (Europe) and East (Russia). Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has emphasized this geopolitical clash between Western liberalism (that promotes gender equality and LGBTQ+ inclusivity) and conservatism (that upholds nuclear family and anti-gender agenda). At the same time, the expectations and demands of Western identity politics might not travel easily to non-Western localities. Visibility politics was often criticized for being Western model that does not account for local realities when instead of empowering it might make LGBTQ+ individuals more vulnerable. As the dynamics of LGBTQ+ activism in Eastern Europe shows, the success and usefulness of attempting to follow the strategies developed by Western identity politics depend on the local socio-political environments. In this light, Pride public events in varied Eastern European contexts present an interesting case for the comparative investigation of why and how local activists choose to organize such events. Estonia is an EU member and one of the most progressive states in terms of LGBTQ+ rights in the region, having legalized same-sex marriage in 2023. However, there was a decade between the first and second attempts to hold a Pride parade in Tallinn. In turn, Ukraine pursues deeper political and economic ties with the EU and aims to adopt non-discriminative legislation regarding LGBTQ+ people. Despite the Ukrainian state declaring itself inclusive and liberal, however, the rhetorical adoption of liberal policies is not yet followed by their implementation. LGBTQ+ Ukrainians have adopted Western strategy of visibility and regularly hold Pride events. Russia, on the other hand, promotes conservative anti-Western discourse, treating queer visibility as a Western attempt to ‘feminize’ the nation. The organization of public events, including Pride, has been essentially banned there in recent years. Drawing on social movement theories, the paper interrogates the complexities and nuances of the organization of Pride public events in the contexts of West-anti-West association, experienced in Estonia, Ukraine, and Russia.