Nina Ostanina, chair of the State Duma committee on family protection, fatherhood, motherhood, and childhood, said that adopting a domestic violence law could, in her view, affect young people’s willingness to marry.
In an interview with the Moskva news agency, the lawmaker said men could become wary of family life if any touch toward a wife at home, following a woman’s complaint, were interpreted as an attack on her physical or mental health. According to Ostanina, the authors of the initiative should provide an analysis of the consequences for the creation of new families and for divorce rates.
“Right now, eight out of ten families divorce,” Ostanina said. In her forecast, if such a law is adopted, “ten out of ten” would divorce.
She also argued that current legislation already provides for criminal liability for physical violence regardless of where it occurs.
Long-running attempts to pass the law
Debate over a separate domestic violence law in Russia has continued for more than 10 years. In 2016, a bill on the prevention of family and domestic violence in Russia was introduced in the State Duma with the participation of Oksana Pushkina, who was then a lawmaker. Its consideration was later frozen.
In 2017, domestic violence was decriminalized in Russia. A first offense carries a fine of 5,000 to 30,000 rubles, arrest, or compulsory labor; in practice, a fine is most often imposed. Criminal punishment applies only in repeat cases.
In 2024, the New People faction made another attempt to submit a domestic violence bill for consideration. In 2025, that draft received a negative opinion from the government. On June 19, 2026, New People lawmaker Ksenia Goryacheva sent a new bill to the government for review that would introduce criminal liability for battery against close relatives and family members. No response has yet been received.