fierce rivalry In Russia, it found an unexpectedly positive audience despite the country’s extensive anti-LGBTQ laws and aggressive government efforts to censor gay content.
HBO’s hit series about closeted gay hockey players played by Hudson Williams and Conor Storey became a hit in the U.S. and Canada in December, garnering attention for its explicit sex scenes as well as praise for its writing and character development.
Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have restricted access to streaming platforms such as HBO and Netflix. In response, Russians looking for Western television have turned to pirated websites offering full episodes of series, and clips and full episodes are also widely circulating on VKontakte, Russia’s Facebook-like social network.
Kinopoisk, Russia’s equivalent of IMDb, has fierce rivalry It has an average rating of 8.4 out of 10 from over 77,000 users, which is higher than any other major western series. game of thrones, breaking badand the sopranos.
Online fan groups dedicated to the show on Russian social media now number tens of thousands of users, and Russian Instagram Reels are said to be flooded with clips praising the series. washington post.
Russian fans in particular may find resonance with the character of Russian hockey player Ilya Rozanov (Story), who was born into a patriarchal family with deep ties to law enforcement and the military and grew up in a hypermasculine and homophobic environment. Viewers may also identify with the idea that Ilya will never be fully accepted in Russian society as a bisexual man, nor will he be allowed to live openly in a committed relationship with another man.
Some praise Ilya’s monologue, which explains why he will never return to Russia. In Russia, his sexuality would be a disappointment to his family and lead to his ostracism from society as a whole.
“If you are openly gay in Russia, you are under constant pressure and live in fear,” said a Moscow resident who requested anonymity. post. “For those who want to live openly and freely, the best option is to leave.”
Naturally, its popularity is fierce rivalry It infuriated conservatives. Solok Sorokov, a conservative Orthodox Christian group that advocates for “traditional values,” said it plans to ask state media watchdog Roskomnadzor and the prosecutor general to remove the series from streaming platforms and prosecute websites making it available to Russian viewers for violating anti-LGBTQ “propaganda” laws.
“The series is full of sodomite sex scenes,” Georgy Soldatov, the group’s president, told Absatz Media. “Despite the fact that the death rate already exceeds the birth rate in Russia, our young people are being shown propaganda of unnatural debauchery.”
According to washington posta law set to take effect in Russia on March 1, bans films that “deny traditional values” or promote drug use, and gives regulators the power to pressure movie theaters and streaming services to remove such content from their platforms.
Last year, Roskomnadzor blocked 1.3 million pieces of content. This is a 59% increase compared to 2024. Virtual private networks that disguise users’ internet locations were targeted most frequently, while LGBTQ content ranked as the second most popular category.
Mikhail Zhigal, a prominent Russian journalist living in exile, wrote the following essay: vanity fair The series resonates with him and other LGBTQ Russians, drawing parallels between Ilya’s story and his own life.
“Like this character, I was born at the end of the Soviet Union, when homosexuality was still a crime,” Zeiger wrote. “My father was a military man. I grew up in a society where it seemed impossible to come out. It was always clear that being gay in Russia meant being ostracized, cursed, and without any chances.”
Zeiger said, noting that many gay Russians are skeptical of the season finale’s happy ending and the very idea of living freely and openly. Associated Press Nevertheless, he said the series was provocative as an “attempt to normalize discourse” and could change some viewers’ perceptions of homosexuality.
Zeiger also said: AP The show’s popularity on underground streaming services reflects a quiet form of resistance to the Russian government’s censorship efforts, he said.
“This shows that they are trying to maintain normalcy and continue to resist the Putin regime’s brainwashing attempts,” Zygar said, referring to his fellow Russians. “They are not brainwashed. They are not ready to buy into propaganda or official anti-LGBT rhetoric. They are living their lives and seeing what they want to see.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
