Gennady Trifonov

Gennady Trifonov (1944 –March 2011) was a Russian poet and one of the only Soviet dissidents who publicly criticized the regime for its oppression of gay people.

Trifonov was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1944. decrying the treatment of homosexual men in Soviet labor camps. He did not succeed at having it published in the Soviet Union, but it became known due to the efforts of Simon Karlinsky. His contacts in Western countries published his story in 1977 in several news outlets as an attempt to forestall further abuse by the KGB.

Three of his poems, addressed to a Georgian dancer, were published in Gay Sunshine Journal in its spring 1977 issue.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Trifonov protested against former dissidents who had ignored or mocked the plight of homosexuals in the Soviet camps. According to Trifonov's research, more than 60,000 people were arrested under Soviet anti-homosexuality laws.