"There is no sex in the Soviet Union" went the saying - which more characterized official communist attitudes than real social mores. Not only did sex exist, but the provision of sexual services to foreigners offered a very small group of people a rare source of foreign currency and a small taste of Western living.
In 19th century Kyiv, brothels were officially tolerated and largely restricted to a district called "The hole" or "Yama" in Ukrainian. Yamska Street exists to this day. The prostitutes themselves were virtually the property of the brothel owners. They had no identification papers and most suffered from venereal diseases. The average workload was 10 clients a night with days off for religious holidays. However, the church refused to render them funeral services when they died.
When the commissars came to power, the lumpenproletariat was supposed to disappear along with the bourgeoisie who had exploited them. Instead, thieves became an integral part of the state procurement system, alcoholics blended into the workforce and hookers began to specialize in foreign clients.
Innocence lost
"In our time, it was much more beautiful because we didn't have to do it, but wanted to," says Marina, a fifty-something Soviet-era prostitute. To her, the profession has now become dirty, vulgar and even dangerous. "As teenagers, my sister and I did not know we could charge money for it. We were happy to get expensive, foreign perfumes and clothes, to spend an evening in a luxurious Kyiv restaurant and then continue the encounter in a nice hotel room or rental apartment."
And contrary to popular belief, based on Western experience or all too real reports on the horrors of contemporary people trafficking, Marina and her sister weren't any more deprived or unfortunate than other girls they grew up with. The family had a large flat in the center of Kyiv, which would have made them the envy of most Soviet citizens. The naturally blond call girl simply decided one day that she didn't want to lead the typical Socialist existence. "I never liked Soviet men. They were too poor and greedy. I grew up in a family without a father, so my mother and grandmother raised me. They had lived a difficult life. My mother had lived through the German occupation of Kyiv. It was probably then that she learned that life was much better abroad. She would always say 'you must marry a foreigner.'"
Nevertheless, Marina didn't listen to her mother at first. While still quite young, she met an up-and-coming boxer and got pregnant - "the first and last Soviet man I ever had. Our relations didn't go well, so I decided to follow my mother's advice." But foreigners were hard to come by in those days. The best hunting grounds included the Moscow, Rus, Lybid and Dnipro hotels.
Rules of the business
Apparently, even then international tourists showed a fondness for East Slavic women. "They loved to fritter their Italian or American salaries here", says Marina. But the rules of engagement were strict. The girls weren't allowed to enter restaurants alone and couldn't order alcoholic drinks at the bar with foreigners. After a certain time in the evening, all guests had to vacate the hotel rooms.
But like everything else in the Soviet Union, for every rule there was an exception or parallel underground system. "There were special passes to each of the restaurants. If you didn't have one, the militia would not let you in. In other words, a girl had to give presents like a bottle of Italian wine or French lingerie to several different people: the administrator of the hotel, the militia guy and the barman." Everyone wanted his cut and had to be paid off.
"I had these permits at all four hotels, but there was still a risk. We had to engage in all kinds of conspiracies. I rarely went to the bar, because the militia often conducted raids there. I also never walked out of a restaurant with any foreigners, because someone might think something was wrong. And I always showed largess to the (hotel) administration. I simply understood the rule: Don't forget to share what you earn."
It was Marina's observance of this rule that kept her out of trouble with the authorities. The same principal was applied in her dealings with doctors, whose services were supposed to be free. But the gift of hard currency or a present bought abroad could get her a prompt examination or confidential abortion. Not that health problems were a major concern back then.
"I can remember only one girl who had caught a serious disease," says Marina, "everyone knew she was dirty. Other girls took care of themselves, but we honestly did not know about any preventative measures or devices. No one thought about such things." Fear of Soviet law-enforcement was another matter. "Those who were caught by the militia usually got 15 days of community work. "Can you imagine girls decked in diamonds and fur coats cleaning the streets?"
In addition to paying all the right people, Marina had an iron clad cover. At night, she worked as a prostitute, but during the day she taught kindergarten. "No one could accuse me of anything illegal. Though my neighbors saw all those dazzling fancy cars driving me off, and they were so jealous!" As exotic as it now sounds, many in the former Soviet Union moonlighted to one extent or another, often in violation of the communist criminal code. "We all had to! There was no other choice. But those two lives never mixed together."
Changing times
Still attractive and cheerful, Marina maintains a positive attitude toward life. Every day, she applies her cosmetics and sometimes goes out for the night with a friend. "My girlfriend Tanya invited me yesterday to a casino - that was great. She is actually married and lives abroad, but once a year comes here to spend time with me," Marina says with a girlish smile.
Going through some old photos of her youth, she comes across a few of her former colleagues. "Most of them got married and left the Soviet Union years ago. Today, they are either tough businesswomen or rich housewives, but money was not the only reason to immigrate ... We all fell in love! I still remember those handsome Italians - tan, strong and passionate. Paolo, my boyfriend, was not actually generous, but I loved him and was ready to risk traveling with him to Russia..."
Things began to change for Marina and indeed the whole country in the 1980s. At the beginning of the decade, preparations began for the Olympic Games in Moscow, which meant a fresh inflow of foreigners. "There wasn't enough girls, so we had our choice," she recalls. "We all knew at least one foreign language, so there were no problems with communications."
But later, with perestroika, came economic hardship and all the social ills that accompany it - like racketeering. By 1989, pimps had started muscling their way into the profitable business. "We had to pay one hundred dollars per month," says Marina, "One hundred dollars was not much for us, as we got at least one hundred dollars per night, but the rules changed and became more strict."
Banditry was tightening its grip on the entire country, and prostitution was no exception. The pimps were just small-time punks who lacked the courage to rob or kill for their take, so they went after girls, explains Marina. Everyone was looking for a way to get their hands on hard currency. "It was dangerous to keep dollars in the house, so we hid the money in the ground or kept it in dustbins."
As things got more desperate, so did Marina's profession. The 1990s marked the appearance of sleeping powder, poured into a client's drink to clean him out while he was out. But according to Marina, this was "used only by ugly girls who were not popular among clients."
More and more "the international girls," as they were referred to in a popular film of the time, began to find their way out of the country. "By 1986 we could buy visas. My sister married a German guy ... it seems he still does not know she was a prostitute."
Marina stayed in Kyiv to bring up her son. She continued to lead a double life, getting through the hard times with the help of her long-time clients. "My admirers would bring at least six suitcases, three filled with caviar and other exotic products, the other three with clothes," she boasts. Once her apartment was stocked with expensive furniture and paintings. Not much remains from those times. A picture of a woman with the appearance of Marilyn Monroe still hangs on the wall. Marina has long since quit smoking, but a carton of cigarettes used to be a regular gift. She also no longer drinks - but as a young woman she loved champagne.
Some old habits, however, continue. Marina never married, but she has a regular lover. She also gets plenty of affection from her three dogs and 10 cats - all under one roof. Another thing she hasn't quit is believing in her dreams. "I have had many dreams in my life and used to write them on sheets paper and put them into empty bottles - almost all of them have come true."
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