When Oleg Dusaev, a pianist and journalist, and Dmitriy Stepanov, a psychologist, booked tickets from Moscow to New York last October, they planned on taking a vacation. But instead they found themselves starting their lives over in the U.S.
This is their story in their own words, as told to Susie Armitage.
We were in such a fog when we came to New York. Only a few days earlier we had buried Dima's beloved grandmother. Oleg had just lost his job as a television producer after coming out. In Moscow we were constantly threatened and attacked on the street.
We've been together for more than six years. We decided to get away and go to New York to get married. In New York we quickly made new friends.
We posted photos of our wedding on Facebook.
Dmitriy Stepanov (left) and Oleg Dusaev on their wedding day.
Photograph by Roman Mamonov, courtesy of Oleg Dusaev and Dmitriy Stepanov
The celebration quickly became front-page news in Dmitriy's hometown, Saransk. But the coverage was a far cry from the typical wedding announcement.
The headline reads "SODOM AND RIDICULE," a play on a Russian word that rhymes with Gomorrah. "A resident of Saransk 'got married' to a man from Kazan, amusing their friends and shocking their relatives."
Stolitsa S
We had tickets to come back to Russia on Oct. 29. The night before our flight, Dima's godmother sent us the scanned article. That was the last straw. Oleg called the airline immediately to cancel our tickets.