• The Agency of Artists in Exile is an organisation that helps Russian and Ukrainian artists find new homes in France.
• A Paris-based organisation assisted them in finding a new home in France.
• After the invasion, the group set up a hotline for artists from both Russia and Ukraine.

The invasion of Ukraine and the following political repression were the final straw for many LGBT Russian artists. A Paris-based organisation assisted them in finding a new home in France.

He had believed he could survive President Vladimir Putin’s government, but after seeing his friends detained or fleeing the country in the aftermath of the conflict, he realised he had been stupid.

“The war caused me pain, shame and guilt — you tell yourself that you haven’t done enough against this regime,” Alexei, who did not wish to provide his full name, told AFP.

When he learned that authorities had visited the St. Petersburg music school where he taught and accused it of “LGBT propaganda” for posting a photo of Alexei kissing his lover on Facebook, he knew he had made the right decision to leave.

He arrived in Paris with the assistance of the Agency of Artists in Exile and was soon joined by his boyfriend.

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After the invasion, the group set up a hotline for artists from both Russia and Ukraine. They have helped about 100 artists from both countries by giving them studio space, helping them get visas, teaching them languages, and giving them emotional support.

As he plays the Russian composer Rachmaninov in one of the agency’s practice rooms, Alexei feels both relieved and intimidated.

“Here, I have some freedom,” he stated. “I just don’t know what to do with that freedom.”

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