Sergey Khazov-Cassia is an award-winning Russian journalist and writer now living in France with his husband.
Reuben Woolley is a literary translator from Russian to English. His first book-length translation, Andrey Kurkov's Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv (Maclehose Press, 2023), was longlisted for the International Booker Prize.
Kat is a human rights defender and civil society professional with over 15 years of experience working in democratic and non-democratic contexts of the Commonwealth and Eastern Europe. Before joining Kaleidoscope Trust, where Kat currently holds the position of Programme Manager, she worked in different professional capacities with various national, regional, and international organisations, including the 2020 International Committee of Torture Investigation in Belarus, the Human Rights House Network and Front Line Defenders. From 2011 – 2018, she was an active member of several LGBTI+ rights organisations in Belarus, carrying out national advocacy and campaigns in support of the LGBTI+ community, including annual Minsk Pride weeks and marches, queer festivals, monitoring and documentation of LGBTI+ rights violations, and building regional LGBTI+ coalitions.
Steve Wardlaw has been an LGBT advocate since the late 1980s – the era of Section 28 and AIDS. Since then he worked on campaigns on equal age of consent, and along with Stonewall and the last Labour government, on equal marriage. Since then he has set up a number of LGBT+ initiatives in the business and insurance sector, particularly with trans customers in insurance. He also spent eight years in Russia.
Daniel Dios is a Russian asylum seeker and refugee who has been actively helping LGBTQ+ migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers integrate into the UK since 2019. He is the co-founder of United Queerdom, an independent community supporting LGBTQIA+ migrants from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Northern, and Central Asia. Through this initiative, Daniel helps create inclusive spaces that foster solidarity, visibility, and the protection of LGBTQ+ migrants' rights. As an event organizer, Daniel plays a key role in curating safe and celebratory spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals. He actively participates in organizing London Pride and other events that bring together the queer community. His work is rooted in resilience, activism, and a commitment to social justice. Daniel’s efforts continue to shape and support the queer migrant experience in the UK, helping displaced individuals find support, confidence, and a sense of belonging.
Igor Savotskin (36) is a Russian national born in Estonia and has been living in London for 13 years—so, he is kind of an immigrant himself. Since 2022, after the Russian-Ukrainian war, he’s been an active volunteer at United Queerdom, organizing events and running social media to help LGBTQ+ newcomers feel at home. From throwing QueerDom parties—a home for queers, a house of queers—to representing the community at cultural events, he works to shift immigrant perspectives and foster solidarity in the UK’s queer migrant scene.
Dan Glass is a multi-award-winning popular educator, author, performer, film presenter, ACT UP activist and sexual and healthcare freedom movement-builder. Activist of the Year, campaigning role model and BBC Greater Londoner, Dan founded ‘Queer Tours of London - A Mince Through Time’, Queer/Trans Muay Thai & Self Defence movement Bender Defenders, re-formed AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) London and founded This is My Culture (TIMC) protest-party. His books United Queerdom from the Legends of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) to the Queers of Tomorrow’ and Queer Footprints - A Guide to Uncovering London's Fierce Historyare used as roadmaps for freedom across the world. Dan is on the international committee of Training for Transformation and an artist with In Place of War. He is now writing 'This is Our Culture - The Revolutionary Legacy of George Michael.'