10 intimate photos of queer guys and allies in Kazakhstan

The bookazine Elska, which spotlights LGBTQ people and their allies from around the world, has visited Almaty, Kazakhstan for its latest edition.

In the issue, readers can meet an array of everyday guys through a combination of intimate photography and personal stories.

The stories, written by the guys themselves in either Kazakh or Russian, are followed by English translations. They’re written on any subject of the person’s choosing – from falling in love with a closeted celebrity to living with HIV.

“All I really knew about Kazakhstan came from the history of the Soviet Union”

“Over the past several years we’ve endeavoured to shine a light on LGBTQ communities all over the world. And the way we’ve tried to achieve this is by ensuring a diversity of geography through the cities we choose to spotlight,” says Elska editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell. 

“One day I was glancing at a map and realised that even after 44 editions so far, we still had this massive gap in Central Asia. I instantly had to remedy this. So I did a consultation of potential cities in the region, and after speaking to some passionate locals who talked of Almaty as the region’s bourgeoning queer beacon, the decision was made.”

“I didn’t know what to expect from the experience,” adds Campbell. “All I really knew about Kazakhstan came from the history of the Soviet Union – now over 30 years behind us – or from Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat, which offers no genuine insight into Kazakhstan whatsoever. And I had no clue about the country’s gay experience. Such a lack of knowledge only served to fuel my interest though, so I flew to the country’s largest city Almaty in February, met and photographed a bunch of local guys, and discovered Kazakhstan and queer life there through them.”

For more information and to buy a copy, visit ElskaMagazine.com.