Authors

Discussion

When we think about the late Soviet-era gay male subculture in Soviet Estonia, we probably do not imagine a very wide geographical reach, let alone connections extending beyond the Iron Curtain. However, recently discovered KGB files and interviews related to a 1984 defection attempt from the Soviet Union show that surprisingly close contacts might have existed between gay men in the Estonian SSR and Finland, including correspondence and meetings. Due to the KGB's great interest in the defectors' foreign contacts, the files document in considerable detail the defectors' interactions with homosexual men from Finland, as well as how Soviet Estonian men who had never visited Finland imagined the life of homosexual people behind the Iron Curtain.

The presentation draws on the KGB files about the 1984 defection attempt and interviews with participants in the attempt. Investigations of Finnish media aimed at sexual minorities also provide clues regarding such contacts (travelogues, personal ads). I will present the defection case, the profiles of its participants, and discuss sources of different types as well as the ethical issues involved in this research.