The Kremlin's Crusade: Redefining Womanhood in Putin's Russia

In the heart of Moscow, Vladimir Putin, the strongman leader of Russia, is waging a war not just on the battlefield, but also in the realm of gender politics. As the country grapples with a declining population and a desire to restore its global dominance, the Kremlin is enlisting women to bear children and uphold traditional family values, a campaign that is eroding equal rights and protections, according to human rights advocates and Russian feminists.

Reclaiming the "Motherland" Through Motherhood

Reviving the "Wonderful Traditions" of the Past

Vladimir Putin, the 71-year-old president who has long cultivated an aura of machismo, is urging Russian women to embrace their "wonderful traditions" of bearing large families, reminiscing about the days when grandmothers and great-grandmothers had seven or eight children. Flanked by images of the "Icon of the Savior, Made-Without-Hands," Putin has declared that preserving and reviving these traditions is a matter of national importance, suggesting a godlike status as he calls upon women to fulfill their duty to the "Russian world."

Tying Childbirth to National Security

Russia's declining birth rates and relatively short life expectancies have long been a source of consternation for the Kremlin, and Putin has seized upon this demographic crisis as a means to forge a puritanical, militarized society built on nationalism and Orthodox Christianity. In his quest to restore Russia's status as a superpower, the president has declared the effort to increase the population a matter of national security, tying it directly to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Promoting the "Traditional" Woman

As part of this campaign, the Kremlin is actively promoting women who embody the traditional image of the dutiful, child-bearing homemaker. Figures like Maria Lvova-Belova, the national children's ombudswoman who has 10 children, five of them adopted, are being elevated to high-level positions, even as they face accusations of war crimes for the forced relocation of Ukrainian children.

Eroding Women's Rights and Protections

The Kremlin's push for traditional family values has come at the expense of women's rights and protections. Many forms of domestic violence were decriminalized in 2017, and groups supporting victims of domestic violence or working to safeguard reproductive rights have been designated as "foreign agents." The Kremlin has also curbed access to abortion, while increasing funding for organizations that promote family values and discourage divorce.

Backlash from Russian Feminists

Russian feminists and human rights advocates have condemned the Kremlin's policies, arguing that they are rolling back the progress made in women's rights and equality. They accuse Putin of forging a "puritanical, militarized society" that is locked in a "civilizational conflict with the West," with feminists, LGBTQ+ activists, and other liberal voices being targeted as "foreign agents" and "extremists."

Contradictions and Tensions

Despite the Kremlin's rhetoric, the reality on the ground often diverges from official policy. In 2022, Russia's Labor Ministry adopted a strategy aimed at women's "de facto equality" with men, even as senior officials continued to make statements undermining those efforts. This tension reflects the Kremlin's need for female workers, even as Putin's obsession with repopulating the country clashes with the desires of many Russian women, who prefer to have no more than two children.

The Kremlin's Propaganda Machine

The Kremlin's campaign to redefine womanhood in Russia is bolstered by a powerful propaganda machine. State media outlets and pro-Kremlin social media channels are actively promoting the image of the "obedient" and "joyful" soldier's wife, who must maintain her beauty and support her husband at the front, even as the war in Ukraine rages on. This narrative is in stark contrast to the experiences of the wives and families of mobilized soldiers, who are organizing low-key protests and being portrayed as "traitors" and "foreign agents."

Echoes of the Past and Implications for the Future

Putin's efforts to increase the Russian population and promote traditional family values echo the policies of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who also instituted a tax on childlessness and the "Heroine Mother" award. However, the Kremlin's current campaign is taking a more extreme and regressive turn, with women's rights being constantly challenged and threatened. As the war in Ukraine continues to take its toll, the Kremlin's obsession with repopulating the country could have far-reaching consequences, both for the women of Russia and the country's future as a whole.