TL;DR

• Russia’s anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda” laws haven’t stopped queer Russians from obsessing over Heated Rivalry.
• The series’ closeted hockey star Ilya Rozanov has become an underground queer icon.
• Fans rely on pirated streams since the show can’t legally be available in Russia.
• Journalist Mikhail Zygar says the story reflects the real lives — and risks — of LGBTQ+ Russians.
• Despite censorship, the show is offering queer Russians hope, representation, and community.

Heated Rivalry’s Ilya Rozanov Becomes Russia’s Underground Queer Hero

Pirated Romance, Real Impact

In a country where LGBTQ+ visibility is treated like a criminal conspiracy, Russia’s queer community is rallying behind an unlikely hero: a fictional hockey star who can’t even air on their TVs. Heated Rivalry — the swoony, sweat-soaked HBO Max/Crave romance between rivals-turned-lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov — has turned into a cultural phenomenon behind the Kremlin’s back. And yes, mama, the gays are risking fines, surveillance, and worse just to watch two men fall in love on the ice.

Canadian actor Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie’s electric performances have ignited something Russia’s lawmakers have spent years trying to stamp out: queer joy. And according to gay Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar, this joy comes with a gut-punch of recognition. In his recent personal reflection, Zygar writes that he knows “quite a few people like” the closeted Ilya Rozanov — adding that he himself once lived that same suffocating reality.

Growing up in the late Soviet era, Zygar says being gay meant being an “outcast” before you ever had a chance to speak your truth. His father was a military officer, the closet was non-negotiable, and visibility meant danger. That legacy continues — enforced not just by culture, but by law.

A Country Criminalizing Visibility

Russia’s crackdown began in 2013, when lawmakers banned so-called “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors — a law crafted so vaguely that queer existence itself became suspect. By 2022, the government expanded the ban to adults, effectively outlawing any LGBTQ+ representation at all. Then came 2023, when the Ministry of Justice labeled the “international public LGBT movement” as extremist — an accusation normally reserved for terrorists.

And the impact hasn’t stayed theoretical. Celebrities, athletes, and public figures have had to muzzle themselves for fear of retaliation. Pride jerseys? Too dangerous. Public support? Radioactive. Even major NHL franchises avoided queer-affirming apparel to protect their Russian players from government blowback.

The Show Russia Can’t Stop Watching

Despite the bans, queer Russians have carved out a backdoor to representation: piracy. And honey, they’re not being subtle about it. On Kinopoisk — Russia’s version of Rotten Tomatoes — Heated Rivalry boasts a scorching 8.6 rating, outpacing behemoths like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.

Zygar estimates thousands of gay Russians have already streamed the series illegally, explaining that Western platforms barely function in the country and the show would be banned anyway. To simply watch a gay love story, queer viewers must break multiple laws — and they do it gladly. As he puts it, they “have to break every possible law simply to live in the same world as members of their own community.”

Why This Queer Love Story Matters

For LGBTQ+ Russians, Heated Rivalry is more than entertainment — it’s oxygen. Representation under repression isn’t just visibility; it’s survival. Seeing Ilya Rozanov navigate fear, desire, secrecy, and hope mirrors the daily emotional calculus of queer people living under authoritarian erasure. And the fact that this fictional player is being embraced as an icon shows the one thing the government can’t legislate away: yearning.

The series is giving isolated queer Russians a shared language, a shared fantasy, and a reminder that love — even forbidden, even pixelated on a smuggled stream — still has the power to connect and inspire. It’s a quiet rebellion wrapped in a hockey romance, a reminder that censorship loses every time a queer person finds themselves reflected on screen.

And if Russia’s lawmakers hoped to keep LGBTQ+ stories off the ice? Well, Heated Rivalry just skated right past them, leaving a rainbow-colored trail they can’t quite catch.