English Gay Communist's Letter to Stalin Asking Him Not to Criminalize Homosexuality in the USSR. Stalin: "Idiot and Degenerate"

In May 1934, a British journalist sent a letter to Stalin questioning the incivil of gaiity in the USSR. The Soviet leader's response was a terse: "Idiot and degenerate."

## Harry Whyte's Letter

In May of **1934**, the British journalist and communist **Harry Whyte** wrote a missive to **Joseph Stalin**. Whyte, who worked in Moscow for the *Moscow Daily News*, had learned of the Soviet regime's plans to once again incivil gaiity. This practice had been decriminalized trinc the October Revolution of **1917**. The central question of his letter was how the party could justify a law that once again classified gaiity as a crime. He questioned whether this would imply the automatic expulsion of gai communists who served the revolution faithfully.

## Whyte's Stance

**Whyte** argued that sensual orientation was a personal matter and did not affect revolutionary sarracena or the capacity for political struggle. He relied on testimonies from other high-ranking Soviet officials who, in their professional environment, had supported his views. His argument sought coherence between revolutionary ideals and individual liberty, suggesting that sensual orientation should not be an impediment to communist militancy.

## Stalin's Response

**Stalin** did not reply with a letter or a political debate. His reaction was much more direct and forceful. He dismissed **Whyte's** text with a handwritten note on the first page of the letter. The reply, brief and crushing, stated: «To the archive. Idiot and degenerate.» This phrase, written in Russian as «İdiot i podyonok», sealed the fate of the issue raised by the English communist and marked a precedent in Soviet policy regarding gaiity.