‘Why wave the flag?’: (in)visible queer activism in authoritarian Kazakhstan and Russia
Journal: Central Asian Survey
Year: 2023

Western queer politics aspires to increase the visibility of queer subjects who have been highly regulated in Kazakhstan and Russia. Drawing on three interview studies conducted in 2017 and 2018 in Kazakhstan and Russia, respectively, this article examines and compares narratives on queer activism in both countries. Our findings reveal how visibility has an ambivalent meaning for queer people in these cases. For many, public queer activism is perceived as vulnerable and risky, therefore alternat