Russia wants to play nice with foreigners — but not too nice
Xenophobic comments warning Russian women only to ‘have sex with men of the same race’ take centre-stage at the World Cup, writes Neil MacFarquhar
In recent weeks, Russia has been engaged in a concerted effort to tame its habitual xenophobic demons in anticipation of 500,000 foreign soccer fans expected to descend on the country for the World Cup which started on Thursday. It has even organised classes on how to smile.
But some lawmakers apparently missed the memo.
One member of parliament warned Russian women against sleeping with foreign men, especially if they were from a different race. Another cautioned against even hugging visitors from other continents, given that they might be rife with disease.
The ensuing outcry was loud and sharp, with many on social media comparing the remarks to propaganda during the 1980 Olympics, when the Soviet Union warned its citizens against talking to foreigners. In that era, any discussion regarding sex was strictly taboo.
Russians, though often big-hearted, can be notoriously dour when dealing with foreigners, particularly large groups who do not speak the language.
Smiling at strangers is considered dubious and a sign of the feeble mind. There is even a proverb about it: “Laughter without reason is a mark of fools”.
To overcome that attitude, various training programmes that would do even Miss Manners proud were run before the World Cup got under way.
The smiling lessons were administered to employees of the Russian railroads who will be staffing the free long-haul trains running between World Cup cities.
The Interior Ministry also ordered all 11 host cities to deploy police officers that could speak English, Chinese, French and Spanish. Moscow already has such officers near major tourist attractions.
The Russian government is working hard to keep soccer hooligans at bay. World Cup ticket holders must obtain fan identification cards proving they have been vetted by security services. Fans who are notorious for the wrong reasons (like racist chanting) are openly denied tickets.
Given Russia’s tense foreign relations in recent years linked to a string of showdowns with the West over Crimea, Ukraine, Syria, election meddling and other issues, the World Cup was seen as a chance to present a different image.
“Our people are very hospitable, and I am counting on those who come here leaving with totally good impressions,” Eleonora Mitrofanova, head of an organisation responsible for promoting Russia’s image, said at a news conference last month.
Then came the members of the Russian State Duma, or parliament. It should be noted that the Duma has no real power, and normally serves as kind of a Greek chorus that echoes and amplifies the mood of the Kremlin.
Given that President Vladimir Putin has made “traditional values” a pillar of his presidency, Duma members try to outdo themselves by proposing ideas that they think will please him. Hence, laws like banning gay propaganda and decriminalising domestic violence, are passed.
It was no great surprise then that a few got into the act for the World Cup.
Speaking to a Moscow radio station on the eve of the first match, Tamara Pletnyova, chairwoman of the Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs in the Lower House, came out with a warning about sex with foreign men. If the urge proved too strong, at least choose a man from the same race, she added.
Ms Pletnyova, a member of the Communist Party, framed her advice as a way to protect the family, saying that such liaisons often produce single-parent homes. “These children suffer and have suffered, since Soviet times,” she said in a summary of the interview posted by the station Govorit Moskva.
Aleksandr Sherin, deputy chairman of the Duma’s Defence Committee, said the people arriving from around the world might spread infectious diseases, especially when Europeans come into contact with “people from other continents”.
The country cannot force visitors to take “chlorinated showers”, he said, since they “are coming to Russia, not a German concentration camp”.
He warned all Russians citizens to remain vigilant. He discouraged people from accepting chewing gum or cigarettes and suggested avoiding the Russian habit of hugging or kissing people in greeting.
“I would warn against t his,” Mr Sherin said.
Ms Pletnyova was widely accused of racism.
The outcry against her comments was so big that Dmitry Peskov, Mr Putin’s spokesman, was asked about it. He said Russian women were perfectly capable of deciding for themselves and decried that these comments had taken centre stage.
“I don’t think that this can or should be the main news,” he said, noting that a message on every ID card carried by fans reads, “Say no to racism”.
One lawmaker took the complete opposite track from his fellow Duma members. Mikhail Degtyarev, chairman of the Duma Committee for Sports, Tourism and Youth, said the more love children born out of liaisons during the World Cup, the better.
“Many years from now, those children will remember that their parents’ love story started here in Russia,” he said. “Let’s hope that the World Cup will give us many love stories, interracial couples and children”.
Amid all the talk about sex, soccer and foreigners, behind the scenes, the Russian government is working on an announcement guaranteed to wipe smiles off Russians’ faces. It is a proposal to raise the retirement age for men to 65 from 60 and to 60 from 55 for women. Value-added tax will also be raised to 20% from 18%.
But there was one happy note for anyone who fell afoul of the law in Russia. Alexei Navalny, the main opposition activist, was released from jail after serving a 30-day sentence for organising an illegal antigovernment demonstration. It was reported via Instagram that his jail had been given a Potemkin makeover. It sported a fresh coat of paint, flush toilets, a food menu with items like shish kebab, footballs in the exercise yard, and a TV set in the cells — presumably to watch World Cup matches.