The Vanguard of a Foreign Threat
I want to write a little on the intersection of gender/sexuality, domestic politics and international relations. In 2019, there was another attempt in Russia to criminalise domestic violence - then just an administrative offence. The backlash was severe.
Law on "СБН" [domestic violence, literally "family household violence"] = a nail in the coffin of the family.
A number of conservative groups mobilised against the law, lambasting it as an unwelcome intrusion into the sacrosanct nature of the family unit.
The "official" narrative of Russia is usually one quite statist. In the words of Putin:
Our state and its institutes and structures have always played an exceptionally important role in the life of the country and its people. For Russians a strong state is not an anomaly to fight against. Quite the contrary... the public looks forward to the restoration of the guiding and regulating role of the state
Alas, in the realm of preventing domestic violence, state interference was seen as a step too far. This seems like an anomaly, oddly libertarian (in a sense) for Statist Russia. But this is why the debate was not couched in purely domestic terms.
“Just the vanguard of a foreign threat that’s trying to destroy the country from within!”
This was the admonition of Vladimir Khomyakov, co-chair of the Russian "People's Council", decrying those who dared support criminalisation.
The Moscow Patriarchate’s Commission for Family, Defense of Motherhood and Childhood would publish a statement sharply condemning the proposed bill, which was “actively supported by organizations associated with radical anti-family ideologies (‘LGBT’ ideology, feminism), as well as a significant number of organizations officially receiving foreign funding." Archpriest Vsevolod would muse "perhaps it's the Foreign Ministry [pushing the bill], who have decided they can win points in the west if they pass the Istanbul Convention." The ultraconservative organisation Forty Forties (Сорок Сороков), a leading voice against the domestic violence law, describes itself as "a public movement consisting of Orthodox Christians, but open to anyone who wishes to defend their country and its traditional spiritual-moral values." Patriarch Kirill put it in terms of "God only knows what this invasion will bring."
Not only was the domestic violence debate aligned with broader debates on feminism and LGBT rights, but the whole kit-and-caboodle was brought into the realm of international politics. The common invocation of Russia under siege by foreign powers was made. The domestic violence debate is a microcosm in the broader worldwide conflict, wherein Russia is asserting itself as the leader of a conservative, traditionalist bloc against the liberal [pejorative], degenerate, progressive bloc led by the United States.
The Russian State, then, by not "intruding" on the family unit can instead portray itself as still a defender of authority, patriarchy and traditionalism. Strong and stalwart, rather than hands off and minimalist.
I'm intending on writing a bit more on this topic in the future.