Ukrainian gay couple recreates viral handholding video in Kyiv (VIDEO)

The social experiment filming public reactions to a gay couple holding hands and walking through a city center has been brought to Kyiv by Bird In Flight, an online photography and visual culture magazine.

The experiment began in Moscow, with CherbuRussiaTV cataloguing the shocking abuse, both verbal and physical, received by two men as they hold hands and walk through the city center. The video went viral with more than 8.8 million views.

The Kyiv video has been viewed almost 482,000 times since it was uploaded on July 22. It's also received more 2,000 comments, many of which relate the issue back to Russia’s war against Ukraine and European influence in the country. Some comments are supportive, but many others are angry homophobic attacks.

In the video, Zoryan and his partner Timur are shown walking through popular Kyiv locations such as the Botanic Gardens and Khreshchatyk Street. At first, the reactions are limited to double-takes and prolonged stares as many people appear to be taking in something they’ve never seen before.

In stark contrast to the Moscow video, the couple receivea no verbal attacks. Deciding to be more provocative to further the experiment, Timur sits on Zoryan’s lap on Khreshchatyk Street, in the same public display of affection frequently exhibited by heterosexual couples on the same street.

The couple is soon surrounded by a group of around 10 young people, described in Zoryan’s narration as “far-right extremists,” who briefly engage them in a conversation about patriotism. Once nearby patrol police have moved on, the youths attack them with pepper spray before kicking them while they cannot react. Bystanders rush to intervene and the couple is able to escape. 

Zoryan concludes that “in our society, there are very few aggressive, homophobic radicals who are ready to physically attack. Other people just do not care, as long as it doesn’t affect them personally, but this minority tries to force everyone to play by their rules.”

“We saw a lot of verbal insults in Moscow, and we didn’t see that here,” he says. “People could have been thinking something along these lines, but they decided not to say it aloud. This alone is a step forward.”