{"id":24304,"date":"2022-11-28T13:10:33","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T21:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=24304"},"modified":"2022-11-28T13:10:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T21:10:34","slug":"anti-lgbt-law-in-russia-leaders-want-to-construct-a-united-conservative-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/11\/28\/anti-lgbt-law-in-russia-leaders-want-to-construct-a-united-conservative-base\/","title":{"rendered":"ANTI-LGBT LAW IN RUSSIA: \u2018LEADERS WANT TO CONSTRUCT A UNITED CONSERVATIVE BASE\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a>Issued on: 26\/11\/2022 \u2013 france24.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, on Friday, November 25, 2022. \u00a9 Alexander Shcherbak, AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Text by:Lou ROM\u00c9O<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian MPs this week updated, and expanded, an anti-LGBT law \u2013 the latest in a series of measures aiming to highlight \u201ctraditional\u201d family values. Against a backdrop of conflict in Ukraine, Russian political and religious leaders are ramping up an internal identity war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian MPs on Thursday voted to extend a law banning all forms<\/a> of LGBT \u201cpropaganda\u201d. When it was first introduced in 2013 the law purported to prevent minors from seeing content that framed LGBT relationships in a positive light. Nine years later it has been expanded to include adults, forbidding \u201cthe promotion of non-traditional sexual relations\u201d in all media, books, films and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the latest move in a shift towards conservatism from Russian authorities that dates back to the early 2000s. At the heart of messaging from the Kremlin is the defence of so-called traditional Russian values against \u201charmful\u201d Western influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding a national identity <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussian society has been searching for its identity since the 2000, since the failure of liberal values that it was inclined towards at the end of the Soviet Union,\u201d says Viatcheslav Avioutskii, professor of international relations specialising in Russia and Ukraine at ESSCA School of Management in Angers. \u201cToday Russia is pursuing this with even more intensity. Lacking unanimous support for its war in Ukraine, Russian leaders have launched a conservative initiative of \u2018ideological purification\u2019 as it sees the Russian population as being at risk from harmful Western influences.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in this context that Vyacheslav Volodin, the president of the legislative branch of the Russian Parliament, the Duma, on Thursday presented the update on the law banning LGBT \u201cpropaganda\u201d. \u201cWe have our own traditions and our own values,\u201d he said, adding that the new legislation would \u201cprotect our children and the future of this country against darkness spread by the US and European countries\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the latest step towards eroding gay rights in Russia, counterbalanced by encouragement to live by \u201ctraditional\u201d family values.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a speech on September 30 in the Grand Kremlin Palace<\/a>, President Vladimir Putin asked, \u201cDo we really want here in our country \u00ad\u2013 in Russia \u2013 a \u2018parent number one\u2019, \u2018parent number two, \u2018parent number three\u2019, instead of mum and dad?\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussian authorities use the idea of the traditional family to oppose Western values,\u201d says Lukas Aubin, research director at the Institute of strategic and international relations, IRIS, in Paris. \u201cAnti-LGBT propaganda is present in children\u2019s school books, as is promotion of the traditional nuclear family with a father, mother and at least two children.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Population decline <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond anti-Western propaganda, encouraging traditional families \u2013 with plenty of children \u2013 has practical motivations. Despite pro-natalist policies, since the end of the Soviet Union, Russia has been experiencing population decline that recently reached record rates<\/a>. The Russian population is expected to fall to 130-140 million people by 2050, compared with 148.2 million in 1991.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is something Putin sees as a \u201chistorical challenge\u201d to Russia\u2019s strength. \u201cThe destiny of Russia and her historical prospects depend on how many of us there are,\u201d he said in a 2020 speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> Population decline in Russia: \u2018Putin has no choice but to win\u2019 in Ukraine<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, pro-birth messaging is flourishing. Since being annexed by Russia from Ukraine, anti-abortion posters have become a common sight in Crimea. In the capital Simferopol, Aubin says Russian authorities have financed adverts showing a baby pleading with its mother not to kill it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe discourse coming from Russian leadership can seem ultraconservative to the point of being ridiculous, but it is also linked to practical concerns,\u201d says Aubin. \u201cThe discussion over anti-LGBT propaganda is highlighting the necessity for people in Russia to have children. They are not yet at the point of banning abortion, but there is a very strong pro-birth message.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building an ideology <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A third aspect of promoting conservative values involves enlisting the religious bodies.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Orthodox Church, the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, who is close to Putin, has increased references to a \u201choly war\u201d in Ukraine. He is not the only one. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov referenced \u201cshaitan\u201d \u2013 evil spirits or devils in Islam \u2013 in an attempt to help mobilise the Muslims that make up 10% of Russia\u2019s total population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October, Aleksei Pavlov, assistant secretary on Russia\u2019s security council called on the Russian military to carry out an urgent \u201cdesatanisation\u201d of Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conservatism is an attempt to unite the different religions \u2013 Christian Orthodox, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism \u2013 and the 193 ethnic groups<\/a> that make up Russian society, and gather society together under a common goal and identity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPutin is the leader of a country that has never become a nation state,\u201d says Avioutskii. \u201cRussia has remained an imperial state, inherited from the Tsars and the Soviet Union. As such it is, by definition, fragmented into regional identities. By putting immense pressure on society through propaganda, Russian authorities seek to construct a united conservative base that will encompass society as a whole.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020 the Russian constitution was even rewritten to add a reference to belief in God being an integral part of the \u201cthousand-year history\u201d that unites Russian society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no guarantee, however, that Putin\u2019s strategy will work. \u201cThese conservative attitudes towards identity are an attempt to build an ideology and create consensus,\u201d says Avioutskii, \u201cbut it will not really achieve that. Putin won\u2019t be able to unite the whole population behind him and, in pushing so hard to homogenise the country, he risks doing the opposite and exacerbating differences.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article has been translated from the original in French<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issued on: 26\/11\/2022 \u2013 france24.com Text by:Lou ROM\u00c9O Russian MPs this week updated, and expanded, an anti-LGBT law \u2013 the latest in a series of measures aiming to highlight \u201ctraditional\u201d family values. Against a backdrop of conflict in Ukraine, Russian political and religious leaders are ramping up an internal identity war. Russian MPs on… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24304"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24305,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24304\/revisions\/24305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}