Unprecedented revelations by several female journalists about unwanted advances by a senior State Duma deputy has sparked a debate on sexual harassment in Russia. But only a debate.
While the #MeToo movement in the West has ended careers and impacted everything from politics to filmmaking, in Russia the subject is largely dismissed. Even the lawmaker in question, Leonid Slutsky (The last name Slutsky (Слуцкий) is pronounced Sloots-kee and does not have the connotation in Russian that it might if pronounced otherwise in English), has ridiculed the journalists’ claims (several said he has groped their private parts and one made an audio recording of the incident), hinting at a political conspiracy targeting both him and Russia as a whole in the run-up to March’s presidential elections.
Below are some of the reactions to the incident.
A media protest by several outlets began after the Duma’s Ethics Committee opted not to take any action against Slutsky.
RBK agency stopped all work with the Russian State Duma, pulling out journalists who were covering it. Echo of Moscow halted all work with the Russian State Duma. Republic.ru decided to describe the State Duma in all of its coverage as “the Russian state institution that justifies sexual harassment.”
[Эта история] вместо того, чтобы отобрать авторитет, наверное, добавила
“Instead of diminishing my authority, [this story] has probably enhanced it.”
“I don’t like it when women are threatened. When women are beaten. When men think they can grope women and do anything they want and then sleep at night. And I don’t like this to such an extent that I am confident that we will write decent amendments… and then do everything so that they are adopted. Yes, it won’t happen tomorrow, but it will happen.”
“The State Duma did not even choose to express its general position on such behavior. They could at least say that they are categorically against it. Instead, they took up a defensive position, saying [to the women], ‘It was your fault.’”
Любой нормальный мужчина в определенных обстоятельствах мог положить руку на голую коленку женщине или, если она в брюках была, на какое-нибудь другое место.
“Any normal man might, in certain circumstances, put his hand on a woman’s bare knee or, if she was wearing trousers, on some other spot.”
Вам опасно работать в Думе? Если да, то меняйте работу
“Is it dangerous for you to work in the Duma? If so, change your job.”
“Russian Duma members have at least as much information as we do. We know, and therefore they know, that deputy Leonid Slutsky has sexually harassed journalists working in parliament for many years…. We know, and therefore they know, that Slutsky refuses to admit these accusations, he ridicules them, and has no intention of apologizing… We know, and therefore they know: Leonid Slutsky must give up his seat himself, or he must be forced to do it.”
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