The queer men of one of Europe's poorest and most conservative countries

Elska Magazine, the publication dedicated to sharing the bodies and voices of diverse men from all over the world, has put the spotlight on the gay men of Chisinau, Moldova, for the latest and 52nd book in the Elska series.

Moldova is Europe’s poorest country, and also its least visited. A landlocked state bordered by Romania and Ukraine, Moldova is culturally conservative, with 90 percent of the population followers of the Moldovan Orthodox Church. The nation only scored a 36 out of 100 on the Equaldex Equality Index, making it appear as an inhospitable location for the LGBTQ+ community or an Elska photoshoot.

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“I have toyed with the idea of taking my project to Moldova for many years, but I always assumed it wouldn’t work,” says Liam Campbell, Elska’s editor, writer, and chief photographer. “I worried that the city might be too small, too conservative, and too closeted to be able to find subjects willing to do a photoshoot and story for me. But then I realized that my assumptions were based on stereotypes of this country as backwards, part of a trend to focus on Moldova as the ‘poorest country in Europe'. I decided to give it a go and see the place for myself.”

Campbell says he was happy to dash his preconceived notions about Chisinau.

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“I found Chisinau to be a truly lovely city and its LGBTQ+ community was feeling a buoyant buzz from a recent Pride event, one that went by peacefully and with the highest attendance on record,” continues Liam. “However, during my discussions with individual local men, I discovered a cleavage within the community that followed the lines of the city’s demographic split between people of Romanian and Russian heritages. Gay spaces seemed geared towards one group or the other, creating separation and sometimes resentment. Political and social topics came up almost constantly when meeting our local subjects, making this one of our most political issues… though still with a lot of sexy, naked men!”

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Elska Chisinau is available in a collectible print format or a downloadable e-version. The companion e-zine Elska Ekstra Chisinau is also available, containing four more men and their stories, plus many hundreds of outtake images of each Chisinau subject. Both are available for order online as well as from a select group of shops around the world. You can purchase and learn more about Elska Chisinau at www.elskamagazine.com.

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Keep scrolling to see a curated collection of the men of Elska Chisinau from Liam Campbell and Elska Magazine.

Vasile M.

Artiom C.

Denis B.

Dumitru S.

Andrei K.

Alex K.

Nicolae I.