Sergey Piskunov can count at least 10 friends and acquaintances in Russia who were killed because they were gay.
It wasn’t always dangerous to be queer in Russia. In the early 2000s, there were gay pride parades in his hometown. People felt more comfortable coming out and living in the open. Piskunov, who is 36 years old, lived as an openly gay man for 15 years and had a successful career in Moscow.