"People of Moonlight" - such was the title of a book written by the distinguished Russian philosopher V. Rozanov on the turn of centuries. This was the first book ever published in Russian that covered the controversial subject of homosexuality from a non-medical point of view. Moonlight has a light-blue color, and "goluboy" ("a light-blue one") is a common Russian word to denote a male homosexual. The title of the book suggests that the word existed long before the book was published, otherwise such jeu de mots would not be clear for contemporary readers. So, they were aware of the existence of homosexuals and the particular life they led.
A hundred years later, on the verge of the new millennium, a famed Russian scholar was the first to trace back the history of homosexuality in Russia and to share the results of his research with the open public. As if to stress the continuity of traditions, Professor Kon similarly named his book on same-sex love "Moonlight at Dawn". The grant of McArthurs Foundation permitted to translate his paper into English and present it to you on these pages.
Professor Kon has generously contributed this selection of chapters to Gay.Ru International Web-site.
"People of Moonlight" - such was the title of a book written by the distinguished Russian philosopher V. Rozanov on the turn of centuries. This was the first book ever published in Russian that covered the controversial subject of homosexuality from a non-medical point of view. Moonlight has a light-blue color, and "goluboy" ("a light-blue one") is a common Russian word to denote a male homosexual. The title of the book suggests that the word existed long before the book was published, otherwise such jeu de mots would not be clear for contemporary readers. So, they were aware of the existence of homosexuals and the particular life they led.
