The Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAS), one of the most visible opposition movements in Russia, annually prepares reports on women’s rights under conditions of repression and militarization. Researchers and activists of the movement note a catastrophic regression of Russian society into the past. During the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reproductive rights and basic freedoms of women have become a true “second front” for the Kremlin regime, where the authorities are attempting to revive the worst practices of the Stalin era.
According to FAS members, the Russian authorities have introduced total control over women’s bodies, seeking to compensate for military losses and raise a new, disenfranchised workforce. The country has effectively introduced a ban on the public expression of “childfree” views—any discussion of not wanting children, or even open accounts on social media about difficult childbirth or postpartum depression, can result in large fines. Moreover, Russia’s Ministry of Health has introduced compulsory screening even for teenagers: if a girl states that she does not currently want children, she is sent for a “corrective” psychological consultation. In some regions, payments are offered to pregnant schoolgirls to encourage them to give birth, despite the fact that 74% of Russian society itself opposes underage motherhood.
The situation with abortion in Russia is becoming increasingly dangerous and criminalized each year. There are already documented cases of women being prosecuted for terminating pregnancies. The Kremlin is attempting to erase all information about safe abortions from the internet, replacing it with propaganda from religious and psychological services that pressure women. Authorities openly imply that women’s only “great purpose” is to abandon everything and give birth to 5–10 children.
At the same time, the war has triggered an unprecedented surge in domestic violence within Russia itself. Reports of domestic abuse have increased by more than half, partly due to the decriminalization of such offenses, which has been actively lobbied for by the church. In addition, the number of victims of aggressive “veterans” returning from the front is rapidly growing.
Criticism is also directed at the increasing militarization of education. FAS representatives report growing propaganda in schools, reduced attention to human rights in curricula, and an expanding role for military-patriotic upbringing. In their view, the Russian authorities are shaping a generation that becomes accustomed to war as normal, while alternative views are gradually pushed out of public space.
According to FAS activists, modern Russia has turned into an atmosphere resembling the late USSR, with pervasive fear of informants, where any success or stance taken by women can lead to envy and reports to security services. Russian women are forced to live between two worlds—hiding their true thoughts while adapting to the absurd demands of the dictatorship, simply to survive in a state that deprives them of control over their own bodies and future.
