A decade ago, Russian publisher Leo Veles says, he could hang out in gay bars and clubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The scene wasn’t as vibrant as in New York or London, but gay people could gather at spots such as Central Station and the Three Monkeys relatively free from scrutiny. “There were places where you could feel safe, surrounded by people like you, where you could hold hands with your partner and kiss them,” he recalls. “It was a place to escape in such a conservative and homophobic society, a space where you could come and just be yourself.” Now Veles lives in a different and more dangerous world.