Venere Travel Blog - It's our business where you sleep!

For most of the years since homosexuality was legalized in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, the St Petersburg gay scene has been dominated by Greshniki.

This club had an S&M theme with chains hanging from the walls, a dungeon d?cor and dark rooms that were very dark indeed (the name means ‘sinners’). As tacky and fun as this was it failed to serve the growing trend in Russia of gay life becoming main stream. As such, Greshniki failed to pull in the punters and has recently closed its doors for good.

• Central Station Saint Petersburg

The reason for Greshniki´s fall from favor was the opening of a new club almost next door to it, with several floors, many bars and a laid back vibe that customers seem to prefer over the dungeon motif. Central Station incorporates a sushi restaurant on the ground floor with the club above and it boasts that it is the only gay sushi restaurant open all day (it opens at 11 in the morning) in St Petersburg. This is now the hub of the St Petersburg scene and it attracts a large and varied crowd, especially at the weekend when the place fills to nearly bursting. On special occasions the large stage is used for comedy and music shows which usually involve a lot of audience participation. If you are the shy type you may want to avoid being in the front, especially as whatever the show you are likely to end up naked. Central Station is located on Ulitsa Lomonosova, just to one side of Gostiny Dvor. The entrance is subtle to the point of being invisible but the security staff are usually very helpful. They keep a look out for gangs of thugs hanging around waiting to target people leaving the club, which is both reassuring and terrifying at the same time.

• Tri El  Saint Petersburg

St Petersburg is also home to Russia´s first lesbian club, Tri El. Tucked away in the maze of streets to the north-east of Moskovsky Vokzal this is an intimate place with a mixed crowd on Thursday and Fridays, which are the only days men are only allowed in. Like Central Station, Tri El can also be hard to find, 5ya Sovietskaya Ulitsa runs parallel to 3ya Sovietskaya Ulitsa which is where the HI International Hostel is based, if you are unsure you can ask for directions at the hostel reception.

The opening of Central Station has set the St Petersburg scene into flux and it will take some time for the effects to be fully realized. As well as Greshniki closing down other small bars have closed as well. This is in line with the aims of the city authorities who, while officially tolerating gay venues, would prefer to have one single venue such as Central Station than have many small ones spread throughout the city.

Photo of St Petersburg, Russia by night originally posted by k.ivoutin