https://sputniknews.in/20260513/new-generation-always-arrives-with-a-bang-10901654.html
New Generation Always Arrives With a Bang
New Generation Always Arrives With a Bang
Sputnik India
A fierce argument flared out in Russian media: can you, or can you not tell a woman that her role in the society is to raise children and stay home? 13.05.2026, Sputnik India
2026-05-13T21:00+0530
2026-05-13T21:00+0530
2026-05-13T21:00+0530
sputnik opinion
vladimir putin
russia
europe
ukraine
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Funny it may seem, that verbal battle is a part of possible profound changes inside the Russian society, a process that may give birth to an entirely new Russia. Only thing is, nobody knows what kind of new nation it may be.It all began with a dubious legal initiative proposed by a fledgling party called The New People. It has been nicknamed “a bill about hurting some ladies’ feelings”. The big idea was, there had to be a heavy fine for those who propagate their idea that women have been meant by nature for raising children and minding households, so they hardly need higher education, etc.That initiative was a clear case of sucking up to the feminist-minded relatively young city fellows, the possible electoral base for the mentioned party. And, at the same time, that was a challenge to semi-official and rather active propaganda of the so-called traditional values, allegedly forming a kind of an ideological background for Russia’s national existence.The result of that bold legislative motion was unexpected. There is a website called gazeta.ru, heavily populated by feminist opinion columnists. And one of such writers, Ms. Anna Sirota, responded to the legislation draft with derision. It may seem to be nice, she says, to remind certain men that we have a constitution, proclaiming everyone, men and women, equal. But exactly how will that law be implemented? Will it cause a flood of civil suits? Not to mention the fact that what is hurting one lady’s feelings may very well be accepted by another lady.If you want to please women, Ms. Sirota concludes, you better concentrate on the issue of ladies getting more commanding positions in each and every profession, and then they’ll see for themselves if they want to sit at home or rather pursue a career.More, a theologian Sergey Khudiev, a known propagandist of the above-mentioned traditional values, also scorns the New People’s draft. He says, a law should not be a blunt weapon, capable of uncontrollably hurting anyone. Or else, your next move will be bans on saying that men are supposed to protect their families and motherland. Maybe some men will be hurt by that pressure on them.That funny story is a part of extremely important trends, brewing inside the Russian society. Such trends are important, since they show the difference between Russians and Westerners, though you cannot say that there is something clearly Eastern about our Eurasian nation.All in all, that and a series of other debates inside Russia may herald a new period in the national development. In fact, what we are seeing today may well become a start of formation of an entirely different era in national history.Yes, it is a constant process, when people of older generation give way to their younger heirs with different habits. But, for reasons unknown to me, that’s not a soft and constant daily change. New generations always come in with a bang, akin to huge waves rushing ashore at long intervals. These waves form distinct and rather long periods in national and global histories.Sometimes these waves are purely national, sometimes they span the whole civilizations. The 1960-s, for instance, were a very distinct era next to everywhere in the world. In Russia these were the times of huge enthusiasm and great achievements in next to everything, from primacy in space exploration to great poetry. It’s easy to see that most of these miracles have been achieved by people born in around 1930-s, while the previous long generation, the one that was fighting in a civil war and wars after it, has been fiercely resisting the changes of the 60-s.Then there was another distinct human wave in Russia in the 1980-s and 1990-s, forming the present era, with its changes of lifestyle and values. It takes some personal experience to get yourself that gut feeling of big changes coming in. In any case, several of older Russian columnists have already said that they sniff the air and feel that we are back in the 1980-s again, with battles of lifestyles and values getting hotter.The present-day battlefield seems to be legislation, the federal and local ones, plus multiple rules recently invented by all kinds of ministries and offices. The above-mentioned attempt of just one political party to lay legal limits to arguments about men and women in a society is just one example. It seems that everyone and his\her uncle is trying to use all kind of new bans to impose all kind of norms of behavior on opponents, who definitely are not going to take it. If that rally of bans went on, Russia was risking of becoming something like yet another Europe, where there are written and obligatory norms and rules on every move.Maybe the most famous and openly idiotic ban, introduced by a very secondary office, prohibits propaganda of drugs in media and works of art. The idea seemed to be bright, but, as usual, its practical implementation since March 1 this year has brought a real disaster. It appears, the publishers and the rest seem to think that even a mention of, shall we say, opium is propaganda of drugs or may be taken for such by dumb folks. So a lot of plastic with warning signs started covering books of renowned classics, just in case.That battle of the bans has been noticed with alarm at the political top of the Russian society. The President Vladimir Putin had to say, when addressing the MPs, that “excessive (legislative. – D.K.) barriers ate stalling development. All that is temporary and passing phenomenon. While Russia is eternal”.After that, one could have easily predicted the incoming contest between political parties on who may remove more bans and other unnecessary regulations from our legislation. That contest has already started. United Russia, the majority party in the Parliament, is doing just that – disputing the most obviously disastrous bans. Others will surely follow suit, since the parliamentary election will be in September. Presidential election is scheduled for 2028, and one may expect a lot of positive changes in the coming months. But still one may, as well, expect serious political battles on the subject of values and the means to affirm them.All these battles have every sign of generational struggle, with the elders being predictably and habitually alarmed by the next generations not resembling the previous ones, hence the bans. There are also battles between the extreme patriots and moderate patriots, instigated by the current open war of Russia and Europe on the fields of Ukraine. And then there are very vocal leftists and rather quiet rightists, and then there are big city dwellers and the rest. Fierce debate between these groups is inevitable.The September election may help that debate by giving valuable information about mood. But life will go on even after that. And there is only experience of the old folks sniffing the air, as the proof that the new era and the new society are coming in.Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
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New Generation Always Arrives With a Bang
A fierce argument flared out in Russian media: can you, or can you not tell a woman that her role in the society is to raise children and stay home?
Funny it may seem, that verbal battle is a part of possible profound changes inside the Russian society, a process that may give birth to an entirely new Russia. Only thing is, nobody knows what kind of new nation it may be.
It all began with a dubious legal initiative proposed by a fledgling party called The New People. It has been nicknamed “a bill about hurting some ladies’ feelings”. The big idea was, there had to be a heavy fine for those who propagate their idea that women have been meant by nature for raising children and minding households, so they hardly need higher education, etc.
That initiative was a clear case of sucking up to the feminist-minded relatively young city fellows, the possible electoral base for the mentioned party. And, at the same time, that was a challenge to semi-official and rather active propaganda of the so-called traditional values, allegedly forming a kind of an ideological background for Russia’s national existence.
The result of that bold legislative motion was unexpected. There is a website called gazeta.ru, heavily populated by feminist opinion columnists. And one of such writers, Ms. Anna Sirota, responded to the legislation draft with derision. It may seem to be nice, she says, to remind certain men that we have a constitution, proclaiming everyone, men and women, equal. But exactly how will that law be implemented? Will it cause a flood of civil suits? Not to mention the fact that what is hurting one lady’s feelings may very well be accepted by another lady.
If you want to please women, Ms. Sirota concludes, you better concentrate on the issue of ladies getting more commanding positions in each and every profession, and then they’ll see for themselves if they want to sit at home or rather pursue a career.
More, a theologian Sergey Khudiev, a known propagandist of the above-mentioned traditional values, also scorns the New People’s draft. He says, a law should not be a blunt weapon, capable of uncontrollably hurting anyone. Or else, your next move will be bans on saying that men are supposed to protect their families and motherland. Maybe some men will be hurt by that pressure on them.
That funny story is a part of extremely important trends, brewing inside the Russian society. Such trends are important, since they show the difference between Russians and Westerners, though you cannot say that there is something clearly Eastern about our Eurasian nation.
All in all, that and a series of other debates inside Russia may herald a new period in the national development. In fact, what we are seeing today may well become a start of formation of an entirely different era in national history.
Yes, it is a constant process, when people of older generation give way to their younger heirs with different habits. But, for reasons unknown to me, that’s not a soft and constant daily change. New generations always come in with a bang, akin to huge waves rushing ashore at long intervals. These waves form distinct and rather long periods in national and global histories.
Sometimes these waves are purely national, sometimes they span the whole civilizations. The 1960-s, for instance, were a very distinct era next to everywhere in the world. In Russia these were the times of huge enthusiasm and great achievements in next to everything, from primacy in space exploration to great poetry. It’s easy to see that most of these miracles have been achieved by people born in around 1930-s, while the previous long generation, the one that was fighting in a civil war and wars after it, has been fiercely resisting the changes of the 60-s.
Then there was another distinct human wave in Russia in the 1980-s and 1990-s, forming the present era, with its changes of lifestyle and values. It takes some personal experience to get yourself that gut feeling of big changes coming in. In any case, several of older Russian columnists have already said that they sniff the air and feel that we are back in the 1980-s again, with battles of lifestyles and values getting hotter.
The present-day battlefield seems to be legislation, the federal and local ones, plus multiple rules recently invented by all kinds of ministries and offices. The above-mentioned attempt of just one political party to lay legal limits to arguments about men and women in a society is just one example. It seems that everyone and his\her uncle is trying to use all kind of new bans to impose all kind of norms of behavior on opponents, who definitely are not going to take it. If that rally of bans went on, Russia was risking of becoming something like yet another Europe, where there are written and obligatory norms and rules on every move.
Maybe the most famous and openly idiotic ban, introduced by a very secondary office, prohibits propaganda of drugs in media and works of art. The idea seemed to be bright, but, as usual, its practical implementation since March 1 this year has brought a real disaster. It appears, the publishers and the rest seem to think that even a mention of, shall we say, opium is propaganda of drugs or may be taken for such by dumb folks. So a lot of plastic with warning signs started covering books of renowned classics, just in case.
That battle of the bans has been noticed with alarm at the political top of the Russian society. The President Vladimir Putin had to say, when addressing the MPs, that “excessive (legislative. – D.K.) barriers ate stalling development. All that is temporary and passing phenomenon. While Russia is eternal”.
After that, one could have easily predicted the incoming contest between political parties on who may remove more bans and other unnecessary regulations from our legislation. That contest has already started. United Russia, the majority party in the Parliament, is doing just that – disputing the most obviously disastrous bans. Others will surely follow suit, since the parliamentary election will be in September. Presidential election is scheduled for 2028, and one may expect a lot of positive changes in the coming months. But still one may, as well, expect serious political battles on the subject of values and the means to affirm them.
All these battles have every sign of generational struggle, with the elders being predictably and habitually alarmed by the next generations not resembling the previous ones, hence the bans. There are also battles between the extreme patriots and moderate patriots, instigated by the current open war of Russia and Europe on the fields of Ukraine. And then there are very vocal leftists and rather quiet rightists, and then there are big city dwellers and the rest. Fierce debate between these groups is inevitable.
The September election may help that debate by giving valuable information about mood. But life will go on even after that. And there is only experience of the old folks sniffing the air, as the proof that the new era and the new society are coming in.
Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
