22 Russians Who We Won’t Let Vladimir Putin Forget Were Gay From: Advocate

From:  Advocate

 Léon Samoilovitch Bakst 
(1866 – 1924)
Bakst was a Russian painter and scene and costume designer. An intimate in Sergei Diaghilev's circle, he designed exotic, richly coloured sets and costumes for the Ballets Russes. His most recognizable work is his sensual image of Nijinsky in his costume for L'après-midi d'un faune (below). Beginning in 1909, Bakst worked mostly as a stage-designer, designing sets for Greek tragedies, and, in 1908, he made a name for himself as a scene-painter with the Ballets Russes. He produced scenery for Cleopatra (1909), Scheherazade (1910), Carnaval (1910), Narcisse (1911), Le Spectre de la Rose (1911), L'après-midi d'un faune (1912) and Daphnis et Chloé (1912). During this time, he lived in western Europe because, as a Jew, he did not have the right to live permanently outside the Pale of Settlement.