You Get One Free Wife Beating in Russia Now

Today, Popova is a leading anti-domestic violence activist. And she's just faced a major setback.

We speak in a late-night phone call on the day Russian president Vladimir Putin signs into law a contentious amendment decriminalizing domestic violence. The amendment already cleared both houses of the Russian parliament with ease, to the chagrin of anti-violence activists and international concern.

Under the new law, domestic violence will be decriminalized as long as it is a first offense and it doesn't require the victim to seek hospital treatment. The law applies to women and children equally. If the victim sustains more serious injuries—broken bones, for example—the abuser will encounter a small fine, community service, or a 15-day period of imprisonment.

Supporters of the amendment had successfully argued that the state shouldn't intervene in family affairs, particularly when it comes to the physical discipline of children. Before yesterday, domestic abusers could be subject to a prison sentence of up to two years. Yelena Mizulina—a prominent ultra-conservative member of Russia's parliament behind numerous discriminatory anti-LGBT laws—proposed the decriminalizing amendment. In comments reported by the Moscow Times, Mizulina said it was "absurd" that a domestic abuser could receive a prison sentence "for a slap".

Many disagreed: a petition started by Popova opposing the amendment received over a quarter of a million signatures. But large-scale public support for an end to domestic violence doesn't yet exist in Russia, despite the fact that it's endemic across the nation. According to official government statistics, 40 percent of all violent crimes in Russia take place in families, and up to 36,000 women and 26,000 women encounter familial violence every day.

Meanwhile, there's a dearth of state support for victims of domestic violence. In Moscow, there are fewer than 150 spaces at domestic refuges, out of a city of 12 million. And institutional apathy mean that barely any cases—even serious criminal offenses—get to court, let alone result in a prosecution. "Russia has a desperate shortage of government-funded shelters, of effective protection orders and of training schemes to enable police officers to deal with domestic violence," confirms Anna Kirey of Amnesty International.

"We have a culturally specific problem," Popova argues. "Domestic violence is even in our literature. But violence is not a Russian tradition. We have a constitution where it says that violence is prohibited, and our state should protect victims. Women are tax-payers too, and we hire our government."

Despite the grim figures, campaigners had been hopeful that change was imminent. "Draft legislation on domestic violence has been stalling in parliament since 2014," Human Rights Watch's Yulia Gorbunova explains. "Last year there were some very positive indications that it might get adopted. Instead, the parliament moved in the opposite direction, making a huge step backward."

I ask Gorbunova why she thinks Putin backed yesterday's change in law. "I can't say with confidence what President Putin's motivation is for signing this law, but the arguments used by the authors of this initiative were disturbing," she responds. "They contended that such legislation would 'strengthen Russian families' and support 'traditional family values'."

"Beating of one's relatives is not a 'family value' to be upheld," Gorbunova concludes. Popova agrees. "If you think the state shouldn't be involved in family life—well, that means no one can protect you if you're a victim."

Meanwhile, Popova's uphill battle continues. "We're at the beginning of the fight," she asserts. "We need a legal definition of domestic violence. We need to train police to take the issue seriously. And we need a comprehensive anti-domestic violence law."