In late December 2023, 50 years after the scandalous prosecution in an antisodomy case against filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, the Ukrainian authorities officially exonerated him. In this presentation, Averbuch will introduce hitherto unknown archival materials from the artist's case file. This talk will discuss how the Soviet Ukrainian authorities employed sexual dissent as a pretext for political purging. Averbuch will analyze how the Soviet Union inherited Russian imperial approaches to pathologizing queer people, and how the latter resisted oppression and managed to maintain queer life in Ukraine and the USSR at large.
Refreshments will be provided.
Sponsorship
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University.
Accessibility
The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at 617-495-4037 or daviscenter@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance if possible. Please note that the Davis Center will make every effort to secure services but that services are subject to availability.
