Award-winning photo captures effects of homophobia in Russia

The World Press Photo of 2014, selected today, shares an intimate embrace between a gay couple in a dark room in Russia, captured by Danish photographer Mads Nissen.

The photo also won first place in the Contemporary Issues category, making it the second year in a row the judges selected a winner from said category.

Nissen’s winning image is part of a photo series called “Homophobia in Russia,” which documented the difficulties and struggles shared by the LGBT community in Russia, especially after an anti-gay law passed in 2013.

“This is an attempt to understand what it’s like to live with forbidden love in modern Russia,” Nissen wrote in the description of his photo essay. “Sexual minorities face legal and social discrimination, harassment, and even violent hate-crime attacks from conservative religious and nationalistic groups.”

The World Press jury explained that they were looking for a timeless, iconic image that sets a professional standard for storytelling, stressing the necessity for a touch of humanity as well as aesthetics. And Nissen’s photo hit all the spots.