Yury Past is part of the modern Russian writers group; therefore the world does not know much about him yet. He never expected to become a writer, as he pursued physics and embarked in the army, but at the age of 30 things changed. He began studying literature in Moscow and it made him the literature enthusiast he is now. Writing became an escape for many Russian LGBTQIA+ community as it gave them a space to openly express their deepest thoughts without regard of society's opinion. Even while the government banned literature to be published with no filter-- people still wrote to share themselves with one another. Past published a piece called "No Offense In Love" which is a heart-wrenching story of love that humanizes homosexuality in a society that persists to deny their existence. "No Offense In Love" parallels the hypothesis writers turned to literature to escape from the world's judgement by the way the story is set up as a stream of conciousness. The narrator likes this man but can;t help thinking, "And thought to oneself, I'm intelligent, and good looking, and kind. Why doesn't he love me?" His vulnerability is evident in this line as he describes an experience we all have gone through.

Yura, the narrator, sees America as a beacon of hope for queers when he reveals, "As for America-- that's just to keep from hanging myself." America symbolized a country of opporunity and freedom; therefore, he holds on to America in hopes that one day his country will do the same and allow homosexuality to breathe publicly. Furthermore, Yura continously refers to himself as 'one' instead of referring to himself as 'i' or using pronouns. The way he frames the text enables the reader to step away from labels and see things in their purest form. In this case, he shows us unreciprocated love.