76 Russian values
Think Russia is defending traditional values? By contrast. Read about family, religion, law and murder in russia.
- Russia is better than the West
- Russia stands for values and Putin ensures order
- Russia is the last ‘last line of defense for traditional values’
Russia sucks … even in Moscow
Despite Putin promoting Russia as a bastion of traditional values, the reality is starkly different.
76.1 Family values?
The concept of a nuclear family with ‘mother’ and ‘father’ is a way to attract the far-right electorate and is not something Russians authorities stand for.1 In 2017 a legislation was adopted that leaves family violence nearly unpunished: offenders if it’s proven need to pay 55$ for beating their wives.2 Sixteen million Russian women, or one in every five women in the country, have experienced domestic violence, and in 2017, 8,500 women died due to domestic homicide.3
In 2020, Russia had one of the highest global abortion rates at 31.6%, compared to the EU’s 11.4% and the US’s 9%.4 Equality suffers as well: By 2019, Russia ranked 131st out of 198 countries in terms of the percentage of women in the lower house of parliament.5
The population in Russia is both aging and declining; natural population decline is very high and came to 12.6 million people from 1992 to 2008.6 Immigration only partly compensates for this population decrease. According to the United Nations, Russia’s immigrant population is the world’s third largest, numbering over 11.6 million.7
Claiming that they protect children Russia has kidnapped nearly 20.000 kids from Ukraine and tries to illegally adopt them.8 The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova particularly for this crime. Despite claims of rescuing these children, many of them suffer from domestic violence. A recently released video on the internet shows that an illegally adopted Ukrainian child in Russia was subjected to abuse after being physically and emotionally mistreated by the adopting family.9
76.2 Religious values?
Despite authorities’ bragging about ‘traditional values,’ the proportion of Russians identifying as religious has been declining in recent years. In a poll conducted in April 2023, around 60% of Russians stated that religion does not play a significant role in their lives. In terms of religiosity, Russia ranks in the bottom third among the 90 countries surveyed. Participation in regular church practices has also fallen significantly, with only 12% of respondents attending services at least once a month, placing Russia 70th on the list.10
See also Chapter 3.
76.3 Human rights?
Russia is blatantly violating human rights, in its own country and even worse in Ukraine, see the part about Russian war crimes.
76.4 Honorable merchant?
See the chapter on corruption in russia Chapter 7.
76.5 Poo & Poisening!
Russia murders. At home and abroad. Window falls11, poisoned tea, shots to the head. The list ranges from Russian spies such as Alexander Litvinenko and Sergei Skripal to family members (Skripal’s daughter), journalists such as Anna Politkovskaya and the Ukrainian presidential candidate and later President Viktor Yushchenko.12 There have also been attempts to poison journalists in Germany13.
Also popular: intimidation of journalists:
Russian authorities are investigating an attack on journalist Yulia Latynina in which the prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin was doused with fecal matter by an unidentified assailant.
Radio Liberty (2016)14
Because of the lack of toilets15 in Russia, Russian soldiers plunder toilets16, and even in wealthy Moscow, slurry pours over entire high-rise buildings:
The clip shows a “fountain” surging for several minutes, spraying apparently contaminated water and debris over buildings, vehicles, and public spaces. It looked to occur near a busy intersection and reached up to the 17th story of an adjacent high-rise building, and higher than a nearby crane.
Newsweek (2024)17
More info about Russia’s poo-culture see Chapter 12.
Zagorcheva, D. (2024b, March 18). Putin and the Weaponization of Family Values. CEPA. https://cepa.org/article/putin-and-the-weaponization-of-family-values/↩︎
Zagorcheva, D. (2024, March 18). Putin and the Weaponization of Family Values. CEPA. https://cepa.org/article/putin-and-the-weaponization-of-family-values/↩︎
Kennan Cable No. 53: Russia’s “Traditional Values” and Domestic Violence. (n.d.-b). Wilson Center. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/kennan-cable-no-53-russias-traditional-values-and-domestic-violence↩︎
Stradner, I. (2023, August 31). Russia Is Not the Champion of Christian and Traditional Values. FDD. https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/08/31/russia-is-not-the-champion-of-christian-and-traditional-values/↩︎
Kennan Cable No. 53: Russia’s “Traditional Values” and Domestic Violence. (n.d.). Wilson Center. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/kennan-cable-no-53-russias-traditional-values-and-domestic-violence↩︎
Hamburg Institute of International Economics. (2010, July). Country Profile No. 20: Russian Federation. https://www.gfmd.org/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1801/files/pfp/mp/CP_20_RussianFederation_01.pdf↩︎
Kirk, A. (2016, January 21). Mapped: Which country has the most immigrants? The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/12111108/Mapped-Which-country-has-the-most-immigrants.html↩︎
Revill, J. (2024, June 15). Ukrainian children abducted by Russia left with psychological scars, campaigners say.Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-children-abducted-by-russia-left-with-psychological-scars-campaigners-2024-06-15/↩︎
(2024, August 5) Russian woman admits to abusing illegally adopted Ukrainian child. ZMINA Center for Human Rights. https://zmina.ua/en/media-en/russian-woman-admits-to-abusing-illegally-adopted-ukrainian-child/↩︎
(2023, May 24). Easter Eggs: Russia remains a country with low levels of religiosity, and Russians’ declarative orthodoxy is primarily associated with festive social rituals. https://re-russia.net/en/review/278/↩︎
Russia Has a Disturbing History of Deadly Falls. (2024, November 19). The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/russia-has-a-disturbing-history-of-deadly-falls/↩︎
Did Putin Try to Poison a Peace Delegation in Ukraine? It Wouldn’t Be the First Time Russia Turned to Toxins. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/abramovich-ukrane-peace-negotiators-poisoned-timeline-1328838/↩︎
Berlin prosecutor investigates possible poisoning of Russian journalist. (2023 August 18). The Guradian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/17/berlin-prosecutor-probes-possible-poisoning-of-russian-journalist↩︎
Russian Police Investigate Feces Attack On Kremlin Critic Latynina. (2016, August 21). Radio Free Europe. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-attack-journalist-fecal-matter-kremlin-critic/27936709.html↩︎
Von Spültoiletten können Millionen Russen nur träumen. (2024, January 24). ntv. https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Von-Spueltoiletten-koennen-Millionen-Russen-nur-traeumen-article24682901.html↩︎
The Russia-Ukraine War, Toilets, and the New Economic Policy (2022, November 18). Australian Institute of International Affairs. https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/the-russia-ukraine-war-toilets-and-the-new-economic-policy/↩︎
180-Foot Fountain of Feces Erupts From Sewer in Dramatic Video. (2024, October 28). Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/180-foot-fountain-feces-erupts-sewer-dramatic-video-1976054↩︎