Moscow: Sex In The City

"People talked about gays calmly. They didn't shock anyone," writes author Anya Aivazyan.
She recalls an old Soviet joke about cruising. A person comes to the square in front of the Bolshoi Theater and sits down on a bench, where someone strokes his knee. He moves to another bench, and someone throws an arm around his shoulder. On the third bench, someone tries to kiss him. He approaches a police officer and says, ‘Comrade Sergeant, the faggots are hitting on me!" 
The police officer says sweetly, "So why did you come to our garden?"

From a fascinating article on the history of gay cruising in The Moscow Times.  
Plugging a book of photographs of these happy hunting grounds today, Moscow by Yevgnei Fiks.
Here's a recent review of the "thriving" gay nightlife scene in Moscow - which, of course, does not exist as Putin's sent all the queers to the Gulag.

PS Moscow Times profiles the 7 Villains of Russia's Gay Rights Movement.and the 5 Heroes.