Putin's Cult Of Masculinity

"The complete collapse of the belief in the attainability of freedom and equality through Marxism has forced Russia to travel the same road towards a totalitarian, purely negative, non-economic society of unfreedom and inequality which Germany has been following. Not that communism and fascism are essentially the same. Fascism is the stage reached after communism has proved an illusion, and it has proved as much an illusion in Stalinist Russia as in pre-Hitler Germany." – Peter Drucker[1]

On November 30, 2023, agreeing with the arguments of the Russian Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation designated the "International Public Movement LGBT" as an extremist organization, thus outlawing it in the country.[2] The court hearing was held in the absence of defenders, was closed to the public, and the final decision was made by a single judge, Oleg Nefyodov.[3] In fact, no registered "International Public Movement LGBT" ever existed (Russian laws allow the Ministry of Justice to designate as extremist organizations only those entities that at least had tried to be registered, and possess leaders or a so-called "organizing committee").[4] However, this was no obstacle for the Russian authorities, which have also started raiding gay clubs around the country[5] and marked the well-known children's cartoon "My Little Pony" as only suitable for viewers over 18 years of age because of the rainbow-colored tail of Rainbow Dash, one of the ponies on the show.[6]

Many domestic and international observers believe that the discrimination and the persecution against the LGBTQ community is part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's presidential campaign, in order to please most of his loyal supporters.[7] Some observers are also drawing parallels with the recent trend to limit abortion rights as Russia faces the sharpest decline in fertility rates since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Putin recently urged Russians to give birth to eight children per family.[8]

However, what is going on in Russia these days just confirms my assessment of Putin's regime as a version of fascism[9] that in a quite natural manner developed in the country after the demise of another type of totalitarian regime (I would remind here that the Austrian American management consultant and author, Peter Drucker, argued perfectly more than 80 years ago that "Fascism is the stage reached after Communism has proven an illusion."[10]

(Source: Equestriadaily.com)

Putin As The "Alpha Male"

Most scholars of fascism highlight as one of its major features what Italian author Umberto Eco described as "both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality,"[11] and what Stanley Paine detailed as "extreme stress on the masculine principle and male dominance, while espousing a strong organic view of society."[12] This cult of masculinity has also become one of the most important "traditional values" for Putin's ideology, though no one admits it openly. In the "new Russia," this "virtue" manifested itself in the adoration of force, which started to be transmitted to the public even before Putin's rise to power. One may remember the popular 1997 Russian neo-noir crime drama film "Brother" in which the use of force for the "right cause" was openly put upon any sense of the law. Putin's glorification of the strength of the state came from his need to enforce his power and will on the country, as happened in the Kremlin's brutal wars in Chechnya from which the contemporary Russia originated. Here I would mention Robert Paxton's formula of the "bea­uty of violence and the efficacy of will, when they are devoted to the group's success," as another feature of fascism. [13]

However, the logic of dominance needs not only a powerful state, but also a new social order. For this reason, in the late 2000s, Putin, who portrayed himself as the "alpha male," started the "masculinization" of the entire social fabric, to create a society that would fit his imaginary "traditional values."

(Source: Alexei Nikolsky, AP)

The reshaping of Russian society has manifested itself, first, through the rise of the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is one of the most conservative factions of contemporary Christianity. The Russian clergy appears to be the most devoted supporter of the Domostroy ("Domestic Order") – a 16th-century traditional Russian set of household rules and social norms, endorsing male superiority over women and children. I would even say that this was one of the most valuable contributions the Russian Church had ever made to the rise of Putin's regime. The idea of the woman's "natural subjugation"[14] became widely praised in Russia and was welcomed by Russian men, who are less educated than Russian women and whose average lifespan is 10.6 years shorter than that of women in the country – a figure unmatched in developed nations.[15]

(Painting by Andrei Ryabushkin – 1894)

(Painting by Konstantin Makovsky)

The "toxic masculinization" of the society reached its apex in 2017 when Putin introduced a law dec­riminalizing domestic violence, which was adopted by the State Duma by an overwhelming majority of 380 to three, though human rights groups warned about its disastrous consequences.[16] According to this law, violent acts targeting family members and civil partners are considered a simple administrative wrongdoing to be maybe paid with a fine unless they cause grievous bodily harm or death.[17] Since the law was introduced, the share of women killed in Russia by their partners increased to 72 percent of all women killed in 2022 from less than 50 percent in mid-2010s, but the Kremlin is seemingly not concerned with the trend.[18] Quite recently, Putin even pardoned Vladislav Kanyus, a convicted killer who in 2020 raped his ex-girlfriend and stabbed her 111 times, before later serving on the front line in Ukraine.[19]

The Rainbow Flag Considered An Extremist Symbol

The second tool to reshape Russian society toward "traditional values" has been to put growing pressure on homosexual people, who in any fascist regime are seen as "decadent" and not fitting the ideals of the regime.

The first anti-LGBT legal measures in Russia were adopted in 2013, when Putin signed a law "banning the promotion of homosexuality among minors." Just a few months earlier, a poll showed that 86% of Russians were ready to support a ban on the "promotion of homosexuality."[20] Many experts and activists immediately warned that the approved law was just a prelude to something more radical. In 2022, Russia banned the "gay propaganda" not only "among minors," but also among adults, punishing whoever "imposes information" that may arouse interest in "gender change" and homosexual relationships.[21] It is also worth noting that Article 72 of the "amended" Russian Constitution of 2020 highlights that marriage in Russia can only be the "union of a man and a woman."[22] More recently, in July 2023, Putin signed other laws, prohibiting gender reassignment (except for the treatment of congenital anomalies)[23] and banning the adoption of children by same-sex couples.[24]

Nevertheless, in November, at the plenary session of the United Cultures Forum, Putin said: "I am going to say something unexpected: They too – these topics and these people – have the right to win [competitions], to show and to tell [their stories]. Because this is part of society too, it is how some people live. It is bad if they are the only ones to win all these competitions – we do not want that. But this desire for equality... this equality should be everywhere, in everything – especially cultural competitions."[25] Yet, he once again referred to trans people as "transformers," which in Russian is a word for a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another.

With the latest "Supreme Court" ruling, things are getting much more serious than ever before, since any kind of displaying someone's homosexuality or even the insignia of the LGBTQ+ community like the rainbow flag, may be considered an act of extremism and lead to several years in jail.

Private Clinics In Crimea Stopped Providing Abortions

The third tool has been the criticism of abortions. Even though the Church in Russia is formally separated from the State, it was Patriarch Kirill Of Moscow who introduced its "reflections" to the State Duma about reducing the permissible period for an abortion and obtaining mandatory consent to terminate a pregnancy from the spouse.[26]

Some Duma members are now suggesting that women in Russia must give birth at the age of 20, that is, just two years after graduating from high school.[27] The head of the Russian Ministry of Health called even "vicious" the fact that some women prefer building a career and postponing motherhood, adding that the sooner a woman gives birth "within physiological limits," the better it will be for the health of herself and the child.[28]

Some political party le­aders, among them one accused of acts of sexual harassment,[29] argue that all disposable measures should be used for doubling Russia's population in the coming 50 years.[30] Amid discussions to restrict pregnancy termination in Russia, private clinics in Crimea have already stopped providing abortions.

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I would argue that also in this case Putin's actions are partially mo­tivated by a fascist "deep antipathy to feminism and to any autonomous women's movement caused by concern that they would put the interests of women above the nation."[31]

The "Fe­minist Anti-War Resistance," which appeared soon after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine,[32] rapidly became one of the most renowned anti-militaristic movem­ents in Russia, and the actions undertaken by the wives and partners of Russian mobilized soldiers' calling for them to be brought home greatly disturb Kremlin officials.[33]  

(Source: Still from a video message from the wives of mobilized soldiers in Cherepovets in the Vologda region)

Conclusion

One should not look for populist reasons in explaining recent homophobic laws and regulations introduced in Russia. These are just part of a larger campaign praising masculinity and the sheer force associated with it. In a way, this was done in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, and even in that period the drive toward limiting the rights of homosexuals and women evolved step by step. As today in Russia, abortions were not entirely banned in 1933 – it was only the advertising of this service by the doctors that was prohibited.[34] Later the pressure grew gradually – but the final step was made in March 1943, when all abortions (excluding the ones performed to the women belonging to "lower races") were completely prohibited in the wake of the Total War Speech by German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels several weeks earlier.

As is done today in Russia, the government in German started to shut down gay clubs beginning in 1933 even before the adoption of the first anti-gay laws.[35] Later, the revision of Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code made it easier to bring criminal charges for homosexual acts, leading to a large increase in arrests and convictions. I would emphasize that it was not all made because Hitler wanted to secure a solid election performance – no elections were held in the Third Reich since 1932 – but just be­cause (as is happening now in Russia) this fit the fascist cult of force and masculinity and was needed to replenish the drastic population shortage caused by the ongoing war.

For years, the repressions against homosexual and transgender people in Russia, as well as the suppression of women's rights and feminist movements were seen as a display of Russia's "specific values" or "norms," or as a part of transient political campaigns aimed at consolidating conservative voters around the Kremlin.

I believe this attitude must now be changed. As we used to say in Russia, if something looks like a dog, barks like a dog, and bites like a dog, it should be considered a dog. Putin's regime is not a product of Russian "deep-rooted conservatism." It is a modern incarnation of the European fascist tradition, and this manifests itself in the most profound way in its actions against homosexual people, women, and their movements. It seems to me that after November 30 Supreme Court ruling, many inside the country will realize this side of Putin's regime that the people in Ukraine have experienced in recent years...

*Dr. Vladislav Inozemtsev is the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project Special Advisor, and Founder and Director of the Moscow-based Center for Post-Industrial Studies.