Dear friends,
When we think of the Soviet Union, most people imagine strict rules, gray cities, and a society built on order—not romance. But what was love and sex really like behind the Iron Curtain? Was there truly “no sex in the USSR,” or is that just a myth passed down through time?
In this article, we’ll explore what everyday intimacy looked like for couples in Soviet times—from cultural taboos and lack of sexual education to the real relationships that formed under pressure. Drawing inspiration from Anna Ayvazyan’s eye-opening article “Sex in the Soviet Union: Myths and Mores,” we’ll separate truth from fiction and look at how Soviet values shaped love, desire, and even divorce.
This topic remains relevant in 2025 as people explore cross-cultural relationships and try to better understand the family history and emotional landscape of partners from former Soviet countries. Whether you’re curious about the history or building a relationship with someone from Eastern Europe, this deep dive offers clarity on a topic rarely discussed openly.
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How the story began...
It all began with Stalin criminalizing sexuality. The Soviet government emancipated women and many sexual freedoms during the 20s but when Stalin came to power he brought a more Imperial Regime with him.
He put a ban on abortion and homosexuality, and made the divorce process much more complicated.
People had to put an ad in the Vechernei Moskve paper, shaming themselves if they wanted to divorce. He did away with alimony payments.
These and other laws made people a little more hesitant to enter into matrimony. That did not stop them from having sex though. Lacking men after the war encouraged couples to reproduce in an effort to re establish the population. They did not worry about paternity tests, or whose name went on the father line of the birth certificates
They did worry about disease though
Gonorrhea and syphilis were the biggest fears despite the fact that no one knew much about them. Men, after a wild night with unfamiliar women, would check their noses in the mirror the next morning. They knew syphilis would make their noses fall off but they did not realize this process takes time. It can also be prevented with medical care.
Some women wrote the prices on the bottoms of their shoes, and would sit on benches or curbs with their legs stretched out so clients could see their prices. Others would make rings out of either three or five ruble notes.
The color ring showed a prospective john which bill he would be paying with. Prostitutes could be found hanging around outside subways but rarely anywhere else.
This form of sexual satisfaction, the purchasing of a woman’s company, was made almost obsolete by the willingness of the Soviet Union’s women to do it for free.
Protection did not really help
With the use of protection, they would engage in intercourse with both men they knew and men they did not. They still refused to talk about it, except the most experienced women, but they had urges as strong as their male counterparts.
Men were the ones who bought condoms. They were sold in pharmacies, in three different sizes. The men would refer to them vaguely at the counter. They asked the cashier for “a bag” or a bottle of aspirin with a wink surrounding the word.
Women, the especially promiscuous ones, shared a contraceptive secret with their equally experienced friends. They would place lemon slices deep inside themselves to kill any persistent sperm.
The safest route to sexual satisfaction is doing the act alone
Porn was not readily available, as even the black market thought it was too shameful a product to distribute. To get porn, men wandered the streets until a dealer approached them with colorful pictures.
They could also get it off the back of a train, from men called Belarusians. They had reprints of foreign photos or local amateur works depicting cozy home scenes.
The women were often spread on elegant beds with lacy pillows, art adorning the walls. These pictures cost three rubles a piece. That was the same as a bottle of vodka or two tickets to the theater.
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Sex has always been a way to fight oppression
Sometimes these photos were made into a deck of cards, or a short picture book story. Some were made into pamphlets and put one after the other in a kind of witty tale, reminiscent of a dirty comic strip. A few videos circulated the Soviet Union, most of them 8mm strips imported from Germany. They were hard to come by but of great quality.
This is the way that totalitarianism controls the people despite their late night protests. Advertising and fashion have the power to decide who sleeps with whom, instead of passion.
Today these laws and myths are not so prevalent but they and the scandals they caused still speak volumes about the Soviet Union.
Last Updated & Reviewed: June 06, 2025
Meet Krystyna, an esteemed international dating expert, blogger, and the founder of Ukrainian Dating Blog. With over 1000 articles published in English and German, she specializes in cross-cultural relationships, prevalent dating topics, and tackling romance scams.
