A new wave of feminist activism is spreading across Russia, breaking boundaries both online and off. These initiatives tackle all kinds of topics; some provide help for victims of domestic violence, others offer self-education and try to spread positive images of women in the public sphere. From Moscow Femfest, an acclaimed feminist festival launched in 2017, to the Eve's Ribs community hub and domestic violence centre Nasiliu.net, Russia's feminist infrastructure is growing – in Moscow and St Petersburg, at least.
Outside the major cities, however, there are much fewer organisations and projects working on a feminist agenda. According to Nasiliu.net, Russia has 207 officially registered organisations that provide legal and psychological assistance to women, 14 of which are located in Moscow and 25 in St Petersburg. But some regions have no aid organisations at all. The Russian feminist association ‘She’ says that feminist events are held in 45 towns or cities (not including these two cities).
openDemocracy spoke to the founders of independent feminist projects in four Russian regions – from the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad to Tatarstan and Buryatia in Siberia – about their work, the practical difficulties they face and how they're changing the country.
