Amid Putin's Crackdown, Sochi Gay Scene Thriveshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/29/gay-sochi-scenes-thrives_n_4013790.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopularAuthor: Laura Mills Source: Huffington Post
The city was a gay hub in Soviet times, a fact facilitated by the Soviet Union's closed borders, an easygoing southern temperament and, for many visitors, a healthy distance from family and friends back home – giving the place a "What-happens-in-Sochi-stays-in-Sochi" appeal.
The ethnic diversity applies to Mayak [a gay bar in Sochi] itself, where Tenichev estimates that over 30 percent of his clientele is from the Caucasus – the mountainous ethnic patchwork that encompasses Georgia, Armenia, and much of Russia's restive south. Next to Halloween, the club's biggest events are its "Caucasian Nights" – in which dancers dress up like big-eyed Armenian girls or Chechen warriors.
Sochi, however, isn't an escape for everyone. Many gays who grew up here are chained to the same family and social pressures as in any other Russian provincial town.
