A Review of Richard C. M. Mole (ed.), Soviet and Post-Soviet Sexualities. London; New York: Routledge, 2019, 212 pp.

Abstract

The “Soviet and Post-Soviet Sexualities” collection consists of 10 articles which are either devoted to changes in attitudes towards non-normative sexuality during the Soviet era or describe the current state of affairs in some post-Soviet countries. Even though most of the works collected in the book are focused on contemporary Russian society—and many post-Soviet states have completely disappeared from the field of view of the authors and the editor—the reader is presented with a diverse picture, including various topics related to non-normative sexualities in multiple contexts. Although some articles are not without flaws in methodology, analysis, and argumentation, the collection is certainly an important contribution to the studies of Soviet and post-Soviet sexualities since it reveals new, still under-researched aspects of this area.