Amnesty International 'Woman' poster against domestic violence. Picture via Air Brussels.In an unnecessary but dramatic attempt to stand out, Russia’s Duma has decided to take a major step back from international standards on the human rights of women. On 25 January 2017, some 385 MPs of the Russian Parliament agreed to decriminalise domestic violence, placing the issue atop the agenda for 2017. With only two brave votes against and one slightly less brave abstention, the Duma (the lower chamber), passed a text on the second reading which will relegate certain categories of domestic violence currently falling under battery, from a criminal offence to an administrative one. Today, the bill sailed through the Duma on its third reading, and only needs signing into law by Vladimir Putin. From now on domestic violence which does not bring “lasting harm” or is not a repeated offence will carry a punishment of just 30,000 roubles, a 15-day detention or community service. This law reveals that the ultimate victims of Russia’s ultra-conservative political posturing are the Russian people themselves. The Duma is making it painfully clear that the health and protection of its citizens stand far beneath the need to score a political point.
Furthermore, this posturing plays to an image the Kremlin projects to audiences at home and abroad. On the global stage, this shows Russia turning its back on international human rights norms. On the domestic front, it plays into a narrative of so-called “traditional values.”
Traditional values at home
The ultra-conservative Duma deputy Elena Mizulina is the author and engine behind the current draft law and one of the faces of the traditional values and religious lobbies in Russia. She has buttressed her career by capitalising on outrageous propositions that either play out as publicity stunts or are sometimes realised if they overlap with the Kremlin’s agenda.
