Lesbian Lives in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

Francesca Stella is Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, UK. She has held an ESRC postdoctoral research fellowship and worked as a lecturer at the University of Glasgow across the subject areas of Sociology and Russian Studies. Her publications include articles in Europe-Asia Studies and Slavic Review.

"The primary focus of the book is the 'experiences, practices and identities of non-heterosexual women in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia' ... . Stella's theoretical critique is far deeper and of relevance to debates in disciplines including Political Science, International Relations, and Anthropology. ... For those already broadly familiar with the relevant theoretical debates, it will be a rewarding and thought-provoking read ... ." (Cai Wilkinson, Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet, jspps.eu, Vo. 2 (1), June, 2016) "She demonstrates a thoroughgoing study of politicized and marginalized lesbian identities since a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union. ... Stella's work is a valuable contribution for scholars studying gender studies. It is a well-founded publication because she has conducted first hand interviews with lesbians and analyzed her findings methodologically." (Vivian Sabrina Lee, Slovo, Vol. 28 (1), Winter, 2016) "The empirical base of this book is ethnographic research focussing on the experiences, practices and identities of non-heterosexual women in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. ... this work can be seen as one of the first representatives of a post-queer study of sexuality, incorporating 'the criticism of queer theory while maintaining the grounded footing of empirical sociology' ... and a very invigorating one, indeed." (Judit Takacs, Intersections, Vol. 1, 2015)

• 1. Introduction: Locating Russian Sexualities 2. Same-Sex Sexualities and the Soviet/Post-Soviet Gender Orders 3. Lesbian Relationships in Late Soviet Russia 4. Family Matters: Negotiating 'Home' 5. The Global Closet? Negotiating Public Space 6. Carving Out Queer Space: In/Visibility, Belonging and Resistance 7. Conclusions: From Russian to (Post)Socialist Sexualities