Motherhood campaigns put pressure on Russian women

In her research, Gradskova has studied Soviet and Russian family policies, as well as gender equality in post-1991 Russia. She has recently observed that an increasing number of actors are working to spread so-called traditional values in Russia, such as the promotion of a conservative family policy that will aid population growth. This is occurring in a society that is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

“According to these values, a good mother is – of course – married, should bear many children, give them a patriotic education and support Russia’s war in Ukraine. She must also be heterosexual, live in a lifelong marriage, never have an abortion, and take the primary responsibility for the children as well as working,” says Gradskova.

In her study, she followed state-funded women’s organisations and networks, primarily the Union of Women of Russia, to understand the method they use to make “traditional values” attractive to women. She has examined the organisations’ websites, as well as documents, images and reports from events to see how they highlight mothers and motherhood in particular.

Promoting lifelong marriage

“Most of them campaign actively against abortion and contraception and promote lifelong marriage and the growth of the nation. Local branches of the Union of Women use different methods. For example, one organisation awards bonuses to psychologists who persuade women not to have abortions, while another gives out awards such as “mother of a hero” or organises festivals for couples in long marriages.

In the organisations’ campaign material, texts about nuclear families and family happiness often share space with texts about how low birth rates are a national disaster, she notes.

Not all mothers are of equal value

“They emphasise women’s natural concern for the best interests of children. But not all mothers are valued equally; migrants’ children are not the right sort of children, for example. Nor are children who are being raised outside a heterosexual marriage,” she says.

Gradskova argues that “traditional values” politics has intensified since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as a means of controlling women’s bodies and reinforcing patriotic ideals. The campaigns run by women’s organisations to promote a traditional maternal role thus bolster support for the ongoing war. She has seen the statements and expressions of support for Kremlin policy that are published on the organisations’ websites.

“Motherhood has always been highly ideologised, but this is taken to extremes in authoritarian societies and in times of war and I hope to be able to demonstrate this connection. The consequences will of course be challenging,” she notes. “These organisations want to present themselves as if they are working for women’s best interests, but instead their campaigns and activities have become a way of undermining the rights of mothers and women.”