A journey through seven decades of sexual ignorance, oppression, and suffering, told through the life of Dr. Mikhail Stern, the USSR’s first sexologist. His pioneering work challenged the Soviet state’s rigid repression of sexuality, but his fight led him into a life-or-death struggle against both the regime’s demons and his own. Born with the Revolution, Dr. Stern barely escaped execution during Stalin’s “Jewish Doctors’ Plot”, only to be sentenced to the gulag in 1974 after a show trial. Thanks to an international campaign led by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, he was allowed to emigrate—a rare victory that marked a turning point in Soviet history. But his exile didn’t bring peace. In Amsterdam, in 2005, he was murdered in a brutal sexual assault, leading to a landmark Dutch Supreme Court ruling on sexual violence. Through archival footage, personal testimonies, and Dr. Stern’s own writings, the film explores the secret underworld of Soviet sexuality—pornography, prostitution, gay life, sexpionage, abortion, rape, and the daily terror of seeking intimacy under totalitarian rule. Five featurettes will highlight key figures from Soviet history, from a feminist revolutionary to a “married” gay couple in the 1920s to a sex spy who outwitted her KGB handler. Despite its historical focus, Sex in the Soviet Union carries chilling relevance today. As Russia exports authoritarianism and Soviet nostalgia resurges, the film serves as a stark warning: repression of sexuality is never just about morality—it is a tool of control, a signpost of tyranny, and a battle still being fought.