The article explores gender non-conformity among LGBTQ+ minors in Russia within the framework of the “Children 404” project. It examines how Russian homophobic policies suppress queer sexualities and how LGBTQ+ youth navigate their identities under restrictive legal and social conditions.

Reflecting on the utopianism of queer, Gorbachov highlights its potential for critique of identity. The interview challenges the “born this way” narrative, arguing that LGBT+ rights should not be contingent on the “nature versus nurture” debate. It presents queerness as a matter of self-awareness and an ongoing process of questioning and redefining social norms.

Delivered from an LGBT+ activist perspective, first at QueerFest in St. Petersburg and later at the AIDS Center in Moscow, this public talk explores a personal experience of coming to terms with homosexuality, which eventually led to the affirmative self-identification as pidor — a reclaimed version of the Slavic homophobic slur.

The article analyzes the discourses surrounding the prohibition of “propaganda of homosexualism” in Russia, focusing on its legal, social, and psychological impacts on minors. Using discourse analysis, the study investigates how the law constructs and enforces heterosexuality as the only legitimate norm, while marginalizing LGBTQ+ identities.

Following the 2020 Belarusian presidential election as an accredited observer at the polling station in the Belarusian embassy in Moscow, Nikolai Gorbachov was interviewed by “Kommersant”. Over several days, the interview documented on video the observer’s efforts to seek justice as the electoral commission denied their right to attend and observe the electoral process and falsified the final election protocol.

Interviewed by “Open Media”, independent electoral observers Nikolai Gorbachov and Julia Vlasova reported on the violations and their attempts to appeal the election results.