In recent years, St Petersburg has emerged as a cradle of conservative politics, with Petersburg politicians such as Vitaly Milonov proposing the ‘homosexual propaganda’ law, and an enduring association with far-right politics and hate crimes.
Thus the arrival of roller derby—a women’s sport inclusive of all sexual identities—to the city on the Neva seems all the more puzzling.
White Night Furies
Just like many other women across the world, Zhanna, the founder and captain of The White Night Furies, Russia’s very first roller derby team, encountered the sport by accident.
