The springtime of Putin's Russification
Earlier this month, a series of laws came into effect aimed at changing not only the behaviour but also the outlook on life of Russians. Works such as Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman, Gogol's Dead Souls, and Chekhov's satirical tales have been banned from schools because they are "unacceptable for a correct understanding of traditional values."
As of 1 March of this year, many laws have come into effect in Russia that aim not only at radically and permanently changing the behaviour of Russian citizens but also modifying their outlook on life and fundamental principles, with the Russification of businesses, the expansion of "traditional values”, the imposition of MAX as the sole messenger and e-commerce app, the requirement of biometric data for microcredits, and much more.
A report by Meduza attempts to summarise the formulations that have had the greatest impact on the lives of Russian citizens.
One of the most symbolic measures concerns the "defence of the Russian language," reflected in "consumer rights" and "participation in the shared construction of condominiums and other real estate." It establishes the fundamental principle that any information intended for public knowledge of consumers must be expressed exclusively in Russian.
This applies, for example, to signs, indicators, and information panels in shops, unless they concern officially registered trademarks and trade names, which do not need to be "Russified" (for example, brands such as Fix Price or Rostic's).
Furthermore, information in Russian may be reproduced in the official languages of the republics, in "other languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation," and in exceptional cases even in foreign languages. However, only Cyrillic characters are now permitted in the names of new residential complexes, although the words do not necessarily have to be Russian.
Although this law was not adopted in its original, stricter version, the changes introduced will nevertheless impact hundreds of thousands of businesses across Russia. Some will be forced to change their names, unless registered as trademarks, while others will have to redesign signs and other physical supports; otherwise, companies risk fines of up to half a million rubles.
The screening of films that "discredit traditional spiritual and moral values" is also prohibited, while amendments to the federal laws on “Information, Information Technologies, and Protection of Information” and “State Support for Filmmaking in the Russian Federation" have come into force.
The first law introduces new requirement for owners of audiovisual services (streaming services) and social media. The second law introduces new grounds for refusing to issue distribution certificates to films.
Streaming services will be prohibited from broadcasting works containing material that discredits "traditional Russian spiritual and moral values" or denies such values.
The Ministry of Culture will use these same grounds to revoke previously issued distribution certificates or refuse new ones. In the event of a retraction, the regulatory agency Roskomnadzor[*] will require streaming services and social media platforms to remove the works from their platforms within 24 hours.
Starting 1 March, online film platforms can no longer show contents that “discredit” traditional values, and musicians will no longer be able to sing about drugs. In fact, the ban on drug propaganda has been significantly expanded, and amendments to the Federal “Law On Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances” have come into effect.
These primarily concern Article 46, which prohibits drug propaganda and includes the dissemination of information about the "acceptability, attractiveness, or necessity" of using illegal drugs, about possible "benefits of illegal use," and about the performance of "other illegal actions" with drugs "justifying or presenting them as generally accepted norms of behaviour."
The law provides for some exceptions to the general ban on drug propaganda, such as literary and artistic works if they constitute "an integral part of the artistic concept, justified by the genre." Nevertheless, all such works will now be required to carry a drug warning label (unless published before 1 August 1990).
Such exceptions do not apply to all the new provisions listed above. Therefore, in anticipation of these changes, musicians (especially rappers) have begun mass re-recording their songs and removing older versions from streaming services.
It is now possible to check into hotels without a passport, but only via the Max messenger app. Last year's Russian government decree, introducing the new “Rules for the Provision of Hotel and Accommodation Services in the Russian Federation”, is now coming into effect.
The decree allows people without a passport or driver's licence to use the Gosuslugi mobile app or Max messenger to have their ID data verified. Ultimately, however, the decision rests with hotel owners, who reserve the right to deny this option to their guests.
Other new rules have also come into effect for hotel, hostel, campsite, and recreation centre reservations. Tourists can now receive a full refund if they cancel their reservation before the day of arrival; hotels and other establishments now have the right to unilaterally refuse to provide a room, subject to full compensation to the tourist.
Airline passengers now know exactly how long they are entitled to food during a flight delay. Certain air travel rules have also been clarified as of 1 March; in particular, electronic boarding passes are now officially equivalent to paper ones, and passenger rights in the event of flight delays are clearly defined.
Online microloans will now be issued only to those who provide their biometric data. Microfinance companies are required to identify online loan applicants using biometric data (this requirement does not apply to applicants who appear in person).
The objective of this new measure is well known, namely to combat fraud. The authors of the ban hope that by introducing a biometric barrier, scammers will be unable to obtain microcredit without the applicant's knowledge.
Microfinance providers oppose this requirement because the Unified Biometric System contains insufficient data, which will make it impossible for 14-15 million applicants to obtain loans.
As if all these control measures were not enough, the Ministry of Education has urged teachers to convene school and faculty meetings to decide which works of Russian literature are acceptable for a correct understanding of traditional values.
A vote was taken to temporarily ban the teaching of works such as Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman: A Petersburg Tale, Gogol's Dead Souls and The Government Inspector, Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time, Saltykov-Shchedrin's The History of a Town, Nekrasov's Who Lives Happily in Russia?, Tolstoy's Hadji Murat, and Chekhov's satirical stories The Death of a Government Clerk, The Chameleon, and Fat and Thin.
The rationale for censoring Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman: A Petersburg Tale is that it “could fuel a negative perception of government reforms among students” since it relates the journey of the bronze statue of Peter the Great to the capital, Saint Petersburg, with a view of supreme power as ruthless and indifferent to the fate of the individual.
Gogol's Dead Souls, perhaps the most Russian novel in all Russian literature, portrays the system of public administration and bureaucracy as corrupt and morally degraded, which "could fuel distrust of state institutions."
A Hero of Our Time, by Pushkin's heir, Mikhail Lermontov, includes ambiguous interpretations of the Caucasian War and the image of a Russian army officer, which could "fuel a critical perception of military service."
Tolstoy's masterpiece Hadji Murat contains descriptions of fighting in the Caucasus, emphasising the brutality of both sides, thus allowing for interpretations that "contradict the goals of patriotic education.”
Finally, The Government Inspector, the story that established Gogol as “the” informant of the real Russia in the 19th century, satirically describes the activities of government officials, which could foster a distorted view of the civil service system.
Most schools have complied with the order, "reluctantly or enthusiastically." Teachers sent the minutes of their school council meetings to the ministry, along with photos and videos of the voting.
Two schools in Stavropol proposed expanding the list of banned works to include Shalamov's Kolyma Tales, Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, Zamyatin's We, and Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. The latter, a symbol of the rebirth of post-Stalin consciousness, was opposed by most of the faculty.
Russification means the complete submission to the will of the state, but at least the flight of the Master and his lover Margarita, above the skies of a Moscow shaken by the visit of the demonic Woland, preserves the hope of a miraculous future, in which people will be able to speak different languages.
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[*] Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.
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