Paradoxical Sexual and Gender Politics: Projects and Narratives of Russia’s Far Right

Abstract

The creation and entrenchment of heteronormative gender norms are a core project of the contemporary Russian far right, and in recent years, it has been accompanied by a reduction in legal protections and rising violence against those who do not conform to such norms (Kondakov 2019). All of these efforts are carried out by a network of institutions and individuals originating from the State (here defined as the nation's governing body, its various Ministries, and central individuals such as President Vladimir Putin and Elena Mizulina, member of the Russian State Duma), the Russian Orthodox Church (referred to henceforth as the Church), and private collaborators. This chapter will demonstrate that though the heteronormative narratives, projects, and legislation are largely based on the claim that heteronormative genders and sexualities are central to the future of Russia and a shield against "harmful" western

Maternalism and new imperialism in Russia: “good mothers” for a militarizing state—expectations, implications, and resistances

“…In particular, pioneering research by Stoeckl has shown close cooperation of actors in Russia with international and transnational conservative networks (2020). Much attention in connection to the distribution of "traditional values" was received by the Russian Orthodox Church (hereafter, ROC), which is often given the central place with regard to the distribution of "traditional values" (Bluhm and Brand, 2018;Krafft, 2022) For example, "traditional values" are often used by Putin in di erent contexts (Johnson et al, ).…”