Railway Station in Leiningrad, Saint-Petersburg
In the autumn of 1967, kind people showed me where
gays gather in Leningrad. Actually, in those days the word "gay" was
unknown, they used the word "faggot". But at that time it was just a
swear word, and this swear word, as a rule, was not linked to sexual
orientation. Rare people (apparently those who have been in prison) knew its
true meaning. Among gays, they usually said “like that” (“he is like that”) or
“ours” (“he is of our kind”).
I was looking for cruising places in Leningrad, and I
was sure that they were somewhere, but I couldn't find them. I thought it was
just some secret place under a street clock or by the fountain at the corner of
such and such street. It never crossed my mind that homosexuals have public
toilets as their base, that there was their favorite habitat, that this is
exactly where people piss and shit and where you can see dick.
In 1965-66, I often went to railway stations - I heard
from someone that "people like that" gather at railway stations. I hung
about in the waiting rooms, but never went into the toilets. What for, I
thought?
True, once in the waiting room of the Baltic railway
station (there was a restaurant nearby), an old “faggot” stuck to me. He told
me, flashing his golden teeth: “Oh, you want to go to a restaurant, but no
money, no money…” I was delighted with this encounter. At last, I thought! I
will get to know him, maybe through him I will be able to meet more interesting
people. I told him, let's go to my house in the suburbs. Oh, - he answered, -
how can I go there, what if your hooligan friends attack me and beat me up
there? No, nobody will attack or beat you, - I begged him, - let's go!
Of course, he didn't go.
Well, in the fall of 1967, I was lucky and I met a
kind gay, a young dyed blonde queen, you can see from a mile away who he was. At
first he wanted to do something with me, but very soon felt that I would not
give him what he wanted, and he decided to take me on a tour of all the places
in Leningrad where “such people” gathered. By the way, for a very long time,
homosexual appearance, mannerisms, and peculiarities of speech were not noticed
by ordinary common people. It was believed that these were simply “trendy guys”.
Well, we arrived at Nevsky Prospekt, the main street
of the city. First we went to the café (I don't remember what it was called) but
among the regulars it came to be known as “Saigon”. Allegedly, such people
gathered there.
By the way, this "Saigon" existed for many
years and went down in history as a meeting place for various underground
artists, musicians and dissidents. This crowd did not react to our circle of
gay people, just as if we were not there.
Leningrad, cafe "Saigon", long ago.
