Earlier this month, a pregnant woman in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's North Caucasus region of Daghestan, complained to be police about her abusive husband. She told them he beat her, stole her money, and threatened to kill her.
"The officers responded by saying they don't come between a husband and his wife," the woman told RFE/RL.*
Lawyers and activists say such an attitude is commonplace among law enforcement personnel in Russia, particularly since domestic violence was partially decriminalized in 2017.
"This is an everyday practice," said lawyer Mari Davtyan, the director of Russia's Center for the Defense of Victims of Domestic Violence. "The police in general don't like such work. Even if they bring an aggressor to court, it doesn't resolve the problem. It is a lot of work for them, and the result is a fine of about 1,000 rubles ($11)."
"Moreover, many police officers are themselves inclined to believe stereotypes such as that the victim herself is to blame," Davtyan added. "Officers aren't given systematic training regarding domestic violence, and their bosses just aren't interested in the problem."
Mari Davtyan (file photo)
Although many of the most highly publicized cases involve men from Chechnya, which borders Daghestan in the North Caucacus, the inaction of the authorities has been documented nationwide.
President Vladimir Putin has declared 2024 to be the Year of the Family in Russia, but he has used it as an opportunity to promote "traditional values" and rally support among social conservatives at home and abroad, not to address the issue of domestic violence.
"Putin's concern for the traditional family has often manifested itself in legislation restricting the rights of women," analyst Dessie Zagorcheva wrote in an article for the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
'An Endless Story'
On June 1, residents of the Moscow region town of Putilkovo captured video of Isnaur Abdulayev, a 30-year-old Chechen man, dragging his wife along the pavement and otherwise abusing her in front of their small child. After receiving numerous phone calls, police and medics arrived. The woman purportedly refused to file a complaint, and Abdulayev was given a citation for "petty hooliganism."
WARNING: Content contains disturbing images.
On June 3, a video of the woman was posted on a Chechen Telegram channel in which she claimed she had been "possessed by a spirit" and that her husband was taking her home for treatment. She asked people not to share the original videos. When Russia's NTV television sent a reporter to talk to the woman, she declined to speak. Neighbors told NTV they believe Abdulayev is frequently abusive toward his wife and that he has been physically aggressive toward others as well.
In April, a woman in the southern city of Krasnodar named Maria Smelaya, 33, appealed to rights activists for help, saying she was being threatened and abused by her Chechen husband, Chingiskhan Shabazov. On May 9, several unidentified men abducted her from a domestic-violence shelter in Moscow. Rights activists have not been able to contact her since. On May 12, a video appeared on social media in which Smelaya said she was fine and with her family. She recanted her accusations of abuse, saying they were made "in anger" during "an emotional breakdown."
Activists released images of Maria Smelaya showing apparent signs of domestic violence
A lawyer who works with victims of domestic violence from the North Caucasus told RFE/RL that even in cases when police accept a complaint, they often do nothing, and it turns into "an endless story."
"The case can 'die' with them, or it might suddenly pop up after several years and turn into a criminal case," he said. Most often, he said, police respond with a "technical refusal" in which they claim they found no evidence a crime had been committed.
In addition, domestic violence cases are "not prestigious" for police officers, the lawyer said.
Maria Alyokhina, a member of the Pussy Riot performance art collective, demonstrating in Moscow in 2019 in support of a law against domestic violence
"Investigators don't want to get involved because they think they will spend a lot of time on them and there will be no result," he said.
'Pain, Fear, And Despair'
On June 13, Ksenia Goryacheva, a deputy in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, wrote on Telegram that "domestic violence is a horrific reality that many of our compatriots face." She cited a recent study in which 54 percent of respondents had been affected by domestic violence -- 20 percent through personal experience and 34 percent through acquaintances.
"These figures are not just statistics," Goryacheva wrote. "Behind each one is a real story of pain, fear, and despair. The victims are most often women and young people between the ages of 18 and 29."
A 2022 demonstration against domestic violence in Kazan, the capital of Russia's Tatarstan region
The same study found that 89 percent of Russians, including 95 percent of women, support the adoption of a law criminalizing domestic violence. Goryacheva also called for criminalizing stalking and for creating shelters and other support infrastructure for victims of domestic violence.
"We need to raise the competence [of law enforcement officials] and destroy stereotypes surrounding domestic violence," she wrote. "We need to work out a systematic approach to protecting those who report violence or threats."
In April, however, lawmaker Nina Ostanina, the chairwoman of the Duma's Committee on Families, Women, and Children, was quoted as saying there was no need for special legislation on domestic violence, since violent crimes are already against the law.
"We don't find much public support on this topic," she said, noting that domestic-violence legislation has been rejected in the Duma repeatedly in the past.
Seeming to direct the focus on the victims, Ostanina said that "the main method of preventing domestic violence is conscious decision-making when starting a family."
"Don't chase after a daddy with money but without love," she said.