K.g.b. Watches Italian’s Moscow Gay Lib Protest (Press, 17 November 1977)
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Summary: K.g.b. Watches Italian’s Moscow Gay Lib Protest (Press, 17 November 1977)
On 17 November 1977, a significant event took place in Moscow when Angelo Pezzana, an official from the Italian Radical Party, held a news conference at the National Hotel near the Kremlin to advocate for homosexual rights in the Soviet Union. The conference drew immediate attention from Western journalists as it represented one of the first public appeals regarding homosexual rights in a country where such matters were heavily suppressed and rarely discussed openly. During the event, which was closely monitored by approximately 20 K.G.B. security officers, Pezzana unfurled a banner that proclaimed “Freedom for homosexuals in the U.S.S.R.” He argued that the laws prohibiting homosexuality under Article 121 of the Soviet criminal code, which could lead to a prison sentence of up to five years, violated fundamental human rights. This stance highlighted the broader implications of repression faced by homosexuals in the Soviet Union, where many lived secretive lives to avoid persecution. Pezzana's motivation for bringing attention to this issue stemmed in part from the case of Sergei Paradzhanov, a prominent Soviet film director who had been sentenced to a labour camp in 1974 due to charges related to homosexuality. Pezzana noted that the Venice Biennale festival was set to dedicate a day to showcasing films by Paradzhanov on 25 November, which he hoped would shed light on the injustices faced by homosexuals and raise awareness of their plight. The K.G.B. officials eventually instructed Pezzana to move the gathering into a more private setting, indicating the sensitive nature of the topic and the government's desire to control the narrative surrounding it. Pezzana, who was also part of the Italian homosexual liberation movement and had travelled to Moscow with a tourist group, expressed a commitment to advocating for the rights of homosexuals and acknowledged the many untold stories of repression and fear that existed within the Soviet Union's homosexual community.
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