OLGA ROGACHEVSKIKH

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Before February 24, 2022, many people, including myself, regarded Russia as a European country. Of course, there were problems in various fields, but people believed that the problems were being solved and would eventually disappear. What we are witnessing in the field of women's health now, in the summer of 2023, is terrible. The state has decided to monopolize the right to sell emergency contraceptives and is promoting pregnancy and childbirth at the age of 18. In this way, the machinery of coercion directed against an already poorly informed population is being further reinforced.
To comprehend how this could happen, we should recall the phrase “There is no sex in the USSR.” While dated, this expression laid the groundwork for an ideology of complete silence on the matter. For decades, discussing sex, women's health, or contraception was shameful. This was seen as indecent, unclean, foolish, and condemnable. Back in the ‘90s, the only source you could find was a book, a comic titled "Where Do Children Come From?” However, it provided little insight; the names of sexual organs in the book were replaced by fictional words, and topics like contraception were not addressed at all.Начало формыКонец формы
It’s hard to believe that, but obscene language and acquaintances or relatives who had returned from prison often served as the source of information for children. A young girl planning to become sexually active or already engaging in sexual activity could not find guidance on caring for her health - neither at school, nor from pediatricians, nor in libraries. Doctors were only permitted to provide consultation to her if she had reached the age of 18 and approached them on her own, or if her parents explicitly granted permission. Many teenagers were completely ignorant about barrier protection. They relied on the unsafe withdrawal method and were left to grapple with infectious diseases and early pregnancies on their own. In Russia, contraceptives have consistently been expensive, both 30 years ago and now. They are not subsidized by the state and are actually unaffordable for teenagers without an income. For example, one condom costs between 30 euro cents and one euro, emergency contraceptives are priced at 4 euros, and regular oral contraceptives are 6.5 euros a month. By contrast, in Europe, the same oral contraceptives are 3.5 times cheaper at the regular pharmacy price and are even more affordable for young people, costing just 20 euro cents a month. Considering the average salaries in Russia, ranging from 250 to 450 euros a month, an expense of one euro per sexual encounter represents a serious financial burden even for working adults, and is an unaffordable option for teenagers.
The safeguarding of women's health primarily begins with the distribution of information; a girl needs to understand the unique characteristics of the female body and her rights to her own body. Regrettably, I have to acknowledge that in Russia, such rights are not available to many. In some regions, fathers marry off their daughters in accordance with traditional customs. The aspects of women's health and sex education are glaringly absent from Russia's educational system. Among all the Russian textbooks, there exists only a single paragraph in the biology textbook that addresses female and male genitals. This is far from sufficient. Public information about contraception, menstruation and similar topics is nowhere to be found. Conversations about the female body and sex are still stigmatized, relegated to the realm of obscenity, with no acceptable terms in the language to reference female and male sexual organs. People use obscenities because conversational language lacks such words; only medical terminology exists, and many of these terms are unknown to the general public.
The situation is especially challenging for teenagers, affecting not only young females, but also members of the LGBTQ+ community (a subject we will explore in a separate chapter). Examining a 30-year time frame, we can identify consistent patterns in each grade level at school, including girls who became pregnant and gave birth right after finishing school (early pregnancies), a certain number of communicable diseases (including HIV and AIDS) among teenagers, and even instances where parents disowned their teenage daughters due to pregnancy. The use of emergency contraception is more of an exception, as information about it may only be provided in specific cases, such as rape. Generally, this information is not public and remains inaccessible to society at large.
Presently, sex education is virtually non-existent in Russia, and the same problems continue to persist. The state, while aware of these issues, is making people even more ignorant. Deputies are currently advocating for women to give birth to several children in succession at as young an age as possible and are prepared to pass legislation to enforce this. As a result, girls and women in Russia are at risk of being left without even the most basic protection, information, or the right to choose.
You, the readers, might argue that there exists the internet, where one can find all the necessary information. Yes, information can be found online, but in Russia, high-speed internet access is still unavailable in many small settlements. Although large cities do have connectivity, all the above problems persist there. The tactic of complete silence, reminiscent of the phrase “There is no sex in the USSR,” has become ingrained in the cultural code. Consequently, additional information on the internet is pursued only by a minority of relatively more educated teenagers who have the means to access the web. In the rest of Russia, the landscape is dominated by horizontal networks, crude language, the prohibitive cost of one-time contraceptives and their complete inaccessibility (as they are not physically sold in pharmacies). It's a troubling reality to face, but many girls and women are not actively seeking information on these subjects. They often place their trust in uninformed neighbors, classmates, and weird relatives regarding matters of their own health, undergo dangerous surgeries, neglect contraception, and even have children in an attempt to retain a partner.

The widespread occurrence of incomplete families is another grim chapter in Russia's history. A significant number of children grow up in families without a father, only with a mother and grandmother. This setting can lead to profound psychological trauma, especially for boys. Within this alarmingly common demographic, a child might not be wanted, but rather be the result of unprotected, frequently casual, sex. The vacuum of information, coupled with a lack of tangible support from society and the state, often shatters the life of a young girl, causing her to feel psychologically crushed and making a good ending impossible. The girl may find herself financially dependent, may not have had the time to pursue an education or profession, and may also not know who the father of her child is or be abandoned by him. This is only a part of the nightmare, further compounded by societal condemnation, governmental neglect, and a lack of professional psychological assistance. The child may be forced to grow up in an environment where blame for the mother's problems is placed on him or her. Such situations have been, and continue to be, far from rare. The state benefits from uneducated people who are unable to defend themselves. Girls who are uninformed about protection give birth to unwanted children and then delegate their upbringing to schools, where propaganda molds them into pro-war zombies.
The predatory Russian state is also interfering with the bodies of young women through an abortion ban. This has certainly been seen before in history. In the past, there was high female mortality and a wild rate of infertility due to illegal abortions. How many circles of hell must women go through to have the guaranteed right to manage their bodies independently and receive qualified medical and medicinal assistance? Unfortunately, there is no answer to this question in Russia. It appears the nation is returning to the Middle Ages, turning away from the adequate European path.
As a woman, this situation affects me deeply. Women's health requires assistance from the state, and girls should have access to adequate modern information and medicinal support. Unfortunately, a completely different process is unfolding in Russia. Girls' rights to their own bodies are being taken away, the free sale of emergency contraceptives is prohibited, and restrictions are being placed on abortions. We are living through a tragic time. I wait for the moment when all this will end and there will be good news, but it seems to me that this will not happen soon.