''Kvir'' (Квир, from English ''

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

'') is a Russian

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

lifestyle magazine. It was launched by www.gay.ru which runs the LGBT Center "Together", a non-profit organization. The magazine is a non-profit project designed to provide Russian society with correct and diverse information on homosexuality, to increase public tolerance of homosexuals, as well as to support and unify the gay community in Russia. It is also made to raise self-acceptance within the gay community. The magazine's name (Kvir) stems from the English word "queer".

History

The glossy color magazine was first published in 2003. Yearly circulation was 33000 issues. "Kvir" entered the top five best-selling "men's magazines" in Moscow according to the rating of SIRPP - the Union of publishers and distributors of printed products in Russia in September 2004 and September 2006. The physical publication ceased in 2012 with 113 issues printed. KVIR is transitioned to an all-digital format and currently is an online Internet

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

Publishing house

In addition to the magazine, publishing house "Kvir" was established in 2005 with the book "69. Russian gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals". Since then, more than 30 books have been published. These are collections of prose and poetry by authors from Russia, Canada, USA, Italy, Germany and other countries of the world. The house publishes yearly mini-anthologies “Russian Gay Prose” and “Lesbian Prose”. Today, "Kvir" is the oldest publishing gay project in Russia.

Authors

Among the authors of the magazine are fashion historian Alexander Vasilyev, writers Almat Malatov, Margarita Sharapova, Andrei Goncharov, Marusya Klimova, Dmitry Bushuev, playwright Konstantin Kostenko, publicist

Yevgeni Ponasenkov Yevgeni Nikolayevich Ponasenkov (Russian: Евгений Николаевич Понасенков; March 13, 1982) is a Russian historian, art collector, publicist and media personality. He has written about the Napoleonic era in Russia and is ...

. The magazine published photo shoots of Russian and international photographers -

Serge Golovach Sergey Mikhaylovich Golovach (born June 3, 1970, in Birobidzhan in the former U.S.S.R.) is a contemporary artist. He uses body-art, performance art, panoramic photography, photo-films, silk screen printing, animation as well as pod-casting as ...

, Seva Galkin,

Olga Fomina Olga Igorevna Fomina ( rus, Ольга Игоревна Фомина, , ˈolʲɡə fəmʲɪˈna, née Chernoivanenko; born 17 April 1989) is a Russian handball player for HC Lada and the Russian national team. She has played on the Russian na ...

Igor Zeiger Igor Zeiger , (born 1977) is an Uzbekistan-born Israeli Italian artist and curator. Biography Igor Zeiger was born in 1977 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Mark Zeiger, an engineer and Larisa Yavetz, schoolteacher. He graduated from Tashkent Universit ...

and others. The magazine published interviews with

Roman Viktyuk Roman Hryhorovych Viktyuk ( uk, Роман Григорович Віктюк; russian: link=no, Роман Григорьевич Виктюк, Roman Grigoryevich Viktyuk; 28 October 1936 – 17 November 2020) was a Ukrainian theatre director, act ...

Svetlana Surganova Svetlana Yakovlevna Surganova (russian: Светлана Яковлевна Сурганова) (born 14 November 1968) is a Russian rock musician, singer and poet. She was a founding member of the popular Russian rock band '' Nochnye Snaipery'', ...

, Yaroslav Mogutin,

Boris Moiseev Boris Mikhailovich Moiseev (russian: link=no, Бори́с Миха́йлович Моисе́ев; 4 March 1954 – 27 September 2022) was a Soviet and Russian singer, choreographer, dancer, writer, actor, head of a dance group, and author of ...

Thomas Anders Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the pop duo Modern Talking. Starting his singing career while still in schoo ...

and many others.

Notes

{{LGBT in Russia 2000s LGBT literature 2010s LGBT literature 2003 establishments in Russia 2012 disestablishments in Russia Defunct magazines published in Russia LGBT literature in Russia Magazines established in 2003 Magazines disestablished in 2012 Gay men's magazines LGBT in Russia Online magazines with defunct print editions Russian-language magazines Monthly magazines published in Russia