Arts & Entertainment
Russian violinist comes out in emotional YouTube video
Artem Kolesov says he wants others to know they are not alone
Russian violinist Artem Kolesov has come out as gay in a YouTube video that has since gone viral.
The 23-year-old musician filmed the video as part ofĀ the Russian “Children-404” project, in which teenagers share their stories related to LGBT issues. In order to protect their anonymity, participants hold a “Children-404” sign in front of their faces.
However, Kolesov chose to show his face in his video. He says his decision to come out publicly came after reports of more than 100 gay men in Chechnya were arrested, tortured and, in some cases, killed by police.Ā Authorities have denied these reports.
Kolesov says he grew up in St. Petersburg. Growing up in a Christian household with two Pentecostal ministers as parents, heĀ was afraid his family would reject him.
“I never heard anything good about gay people. All I knew was that gays are the people who everyone should hate. I was scared because I knew that I was gay. I didn’t know anyone who I could talk to about it. It seemed that I was the only gay person in Russia,”Ā Kolesov says in the video.
Kolesov continued on that he suffered from depression and had attempted suicide. He eventually received a scholarship to study music in Canada at the age of 16.
Now residing in Chicago, Kolesov is a violinist in the Yas Quartet atĀ Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. He no longer speaks to his family.
Kolesov told BuzzFeed it was important to come out to share his experience with other Russian teens struggling with their sexuality.
“We don’t come out for heterosexual people to know,” Kolesov says. “We don’t come out for the ones who hate us to know. We shout and make as much noise as possible just so other people like us who are scared and can’t be themselves would know that they are not a mistake and they are not alone.”
The 2024 New York City Pride Parade wound through the streets of Manhattan and past the historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday, June 30.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
The fourth annual Fredericksburg Pride march and festival was held at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 29. The event began with a march around downtown Fredericksburg beginning and ending in the park.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Fredericksburg Pride for @WashBlade . City Council member @WillMackintosh speaking: pic.twitter.com/tDdVD2IVsM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) June 29, 2024
Photos
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(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)
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