Agency: Alyona Popova is campaigning for a seat in the Duma, Russia’s lower parliament, and imploring women to turn against Vladimir Putin’s ruling party. Domestic violence is at the center of her platform.
A proposal of hers would make all acts of domestic violence subject to criminal penalties. Lawmakers in 2017 voted to lessen punishments for such offenses. There is no legal instrument to issue restraining orders.
“This is our reality; the only term we can use is ‘epidemic,’” said Popova, 38, a lawyer and activist who is running with the liberal Yabloko party, though she is not a member.
Almost 80 percent of respondents in a 2020 poll conducted by the independent Levada Center said legislation to curb domestic violence was necessary.
Details: Harm that results in bruises or bleeding but not broken bones is punishable by a fine as low as 5,000 rubles, or $68, slightly more an illegal-parking fee.
Data: According to Popova’s analysis of data collected by Russia’s national statistics agency, there are more than 16.5 million victims of domestic violence every year. More than 12,200 women, or two-thirds of those murdered in Russia from 2011 to 2019, were killed by their partners or relatives, according to one study.
