The Queer Life of Lieutenant Petrenko: The KGB and Male Homosexuality in the Ukrainian SSR of the 1960s

Rustam Alexander

Europe-Asia Studies, 2023, vol. 75, issue 5, 721-741

Abstract: This article draws on the six-volume criminal case of Khrushchev-era KGB lieutenant Aleksei Petrenko who was tried for several crimes, including sodomy, in 1963. This article also seeks to make an initial contribution to our scant knowledge on how the KGB dealt with the issue of male homosexuality under Khrushchev. It reveals that, although the crime of sodomy came generally within the purview of the civilian police, the KGB could investigate such crimes if they were committed by its employees. The file in question also reveals that male homosexual activity was surprisingly widespread in small- and medium-sized cities of the Ukrainian SSR in the 1960s.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2022.2072813

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