Sex & Russian Society

"The seven essays in Sex and Russian Society, by Russians and Western scholars, graphically describe the consequences of decades of sexual neglect, illiteracy and repression.... Sex and Russian Society... reveals that beneath the repressive model of official morality an evolution in sexual mores was taking place, particularly among the young.... The book's most alarming, though not unexpected, message is that homosexuals and women are bearing the brunt of a disintegrating health care system and repressive sexual attitudes and stereotypes." --Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation

Here is the first serious study of the main aspects of sexuality in Russian society today, with contributors from both inside and outside the former Soviet Union. From the 1930s, sex was kept out of the public eye in the former USSR. Low contraceptive use, high abortion rates, intolerance toward homosexuals, and inadequate measures to combat AIDS are some of the consequences of the long neglect and repression of sexual culture.