Evgeny Shtorn: A Saint Petersburg scholar, activist and poet

Evgeny Shtorn is described as an LGBT activist, organizer, scholar and poet whose biography includes a significant period in Saint Petersburg. Born in 1983 in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, he moved to the city in 2000, when he was 17.

In Saint Petersburg, Shtorn studied at two institutions: Saint Petersburg State Electrotechnical University “LETI” and the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. His academic and professional work later centered on sociology. He worked at the Centre for Independent Social Research alongside sociologist Viktor Voronkov and other researchers. He subsequently earned a master’s degree in sociology from the Higher School of Economics, under the supervision of Elena Omelchenko.

The available account presents Shtorn’s activities across several overlapping fields. Alongside sociology, it identifies him as an LGBT activist and organizer, as well as a poet. It also states that he speaks and writes in Spanish, English and Russian. The combination of community organizing, research and creative work places his Saint Petersburg years within a broader personal and intellectual trajectory.

The account says Shtorn left Russia in 2018 because of political repression by the Russian government. It links that departure to legislation affecting independent nongovernmental organizations, described in the source as the foreign-agent law, and to the Russian law concerning so-called gay propaganda enacted in 2013.

After leaving Russia, Shtorn sought international protection in Ireland. He was first sent to Balseskin Reception Center in Finglas. There, he began writing a book titled “Chronicles of Refugee,” focused on life in direct provision. He was later relocated to Moate and then to Galway, where the account says he spent most of his time.

For Saint Petersburg readers, Shtorn’s biography offers a way to trace how one LGBTQ+ figure’s civic, academic and artistic work developed in the city before continuing elsewhere. The record does not provide a complete account of his organizations, publications or local projects, but it identifies the city as an important setting for his education, sociology career and public identity. It also connects his departure from Russia to the legal and political pressures described in the source, rather than presenting his move as an ordinary change of residence.

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Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/a-gay-russian-exiled-in-ireland - https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/i-m-35-years-old-and-i-feel-like-my-life-is-turning-into-nothing-1.3707162 - https://www.rte.ie/culture/reviews/2019/1029/1086250-reviewed-writing-home-the-new-irish-poets/ - https://gcn.ie/galas-awards-names-evgeny-shtorn-person-of-the-year/ - https://gcn.ie/country-seen-through-lens-direct-provision/ - https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/charting-russia-s-most-dangerous-cities-for-lgbt-people/ Image rights Photograph description: Lecture about history of a "Stained-glass windows of Russia" project at "Linii" community center. Saint Petersburg, Russia. Creator: Красный. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). Original image page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A%D0%92%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B8_%D0%B2_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B8%2C_%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B0._11_%D0%B0%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F_2021_(2).jpg. The image was resized for display; no other changes were made.