Russian morality still stuck in Communism's 'Godless' age
CBC
Many Russians are having a good chuckle these days at the state of Western society as the long list of sexual violence and harassment claims against prominent American men grows by the day.
The notion that there's something shamefully wrong, misogynistic or potentially criminal about a man exerting his wealth or power over women has struck many Russians as a big "so what."
And in many cases, those gaffawing the loudest are Russian women.
Take actress Lyubov Tolkalina, a 39-year-old veteran of stage and screen who spoke to the online news site Medusa.
"If you get the role, what does it matter what you had to do to get it?" she's quoted as saying.
"How can you actually blame a man for sexual harassment?" she continued.
"Isn't that why he was created in the first place? If he has power that he uses this way, that's fine."
Object of mockery
Another Russian actress, 32-year-old Agniya Kuznetsova, chimed in with a blame-the-victim sentiment.
In reference to the scores of Hollywood actresses who've come forward with allegations against film directors and producers, she's quoted as telling Medusa "they got what they wanted."
"And actresses here [in Russia]," she continued, "are happy to agree to all sorts of propositions."
On late-night Russian TV, the topic of sexual harassment has become a popular object of mockery.
One comedy show that focuses on current affairs on Channel One, a widely viewed network, recently featured four men sitting around a coffee table yucking it up over the day's newspaper headlines.
"It's become trendy to hide it for a long time," said one comedian of the women who've come forward with allegations of unwanted sexual attention.
"It's trendier to admit it," replied his friend to chortles of laughter from the others.
"I admit it. I sexually harassed myself. I invited myself to my room. Now I'm asking for an apology," he said to more howls of laughter.
Social superiority
From actresses to comedians to Kremlin propagandists, Russians have seized on the continuing stream of sexual harassment revelations as an example of what they consider their social and cultural superiority.
Dmitry Kiselyov, the Kremlin-friendly host of a highly watched Sunday night talk show, recently suggested the parade of women coming forward with allegations against famous men represents "an explosive mix of political correctness" and "hypocrisy."
At the same time, he asserted that Russia demonstrates the most "harmonious relations between the sexes."
Note: it was a man who said this!
One of Russia's best-known film directors put the issue of sexual harassment another way.
"I actually think the whole world has been built on it," said Andrei Konchalovsky, director of Hollywood hits such as Runaway Train and Tango and Cash.
"Men must make passes and women must resist.
"Thank God," he concluded, "we live in a country where political correctness has not reached the point of absurdity."
Advocate disgusted
If there's any absurdity, Alena Popova would argue it's that Russia lags decades behind Europe and North America with neanderthal-like views on sexual harassment.
She's a women's rights advocate — a rare breed in Russia, where there are few champions for the cause.
"The reaction was awful," she told CBC News in an interview. "In our country, many think harassment is normal."
Popova, a former journalist who's written extensively on the issue of violence against women and operates a non-profit advocacy group in Moscow, has been using her blog to try to underscore that unwanted sexualized behaviour is not normal or acceptable.
"In domestic violence and harassment," she wrote recently, "one of the main problems is shame and fear of what happened."
Millions of Russian women, she continued, silently tolerate being mistreated and it can completely destroy their lives.
Weak legislation
In January, when Russia passed a new law reducing the penalties men face for assaulting their wives or partners, Popova waged a one-woman crusade outside the Duma, or parliament, camping out in the freezing cold to try to stop the legislation.
She was unsuccessful. Now in Russia, a man found guilty of domestic violence usually gets off with a warning. It takes a second conviction to face any sort of jail time.
"Statements to police and public censure of the aggressors are signs of a healthy society dealing with the problem," Popova said of what's been happening in the United States, the U.K. and Canada.
While I admire the fact that in Russian society men are men and women are women, 21st century men need to evolve beyond violence against women and children and become protectors of them rather than violators of them. Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen until women stand up and say, 'no more!'
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