Russian pornography and erotica

Russian pornography and erotica.

Pornography in the Soviet Union

Pornography in the Soviet Union was largely suppressed until the final years of the USSR. According to The Pornography and Erotica Debate: USSR, sex in general was viewed as "a wasteful consumer of energies better devoted to the building of Communism." Genrikh Yagoda, the third head of the NKVD, was accused during his trial (besides espionage and high treason) of storing a great number of pornographic films and pictures. Such accusations were also faced by Nikolai Yezhov, who followed Yagoda. More recently, possession could get up to 3 years in prison, or a 3000 ruble fine. The 1988 Soviet film Malenkaya Vera was the first to feature a sex scene. The resolution on Glasnost stated, "Glasnost must not be used...[to] disseminate pornography" but by September 1989, calendars of topless women for the year 1990 were being sold in Moscow.[1]

Legal issues

In 1996 section 242[2] in Russian Criminal Code became a federal legislation that prohibited sale and production of "illegal" pornographic materials (dead link) .[3] The section provides for a penalty of up to 2 years in prison. Authorities missed a critical definition—the one of actual pornography. While pornography is officially illegal to sell in Russia, the law doesn’t spell out in exact terms the subject of the ban. Russian erotica is sold openly in sex shops and DVD stores. Newspapers publish information about police raids on such places on a monthly basis.

Pornography and forced labor

The U.S. Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor issued in December 2014 indicates that the production of pornography in Russia involves both child labor and forced labor. The Department had previously reported that "the primary victims of commercial sexual exploitation are street children, including those who are homeless and orphaned"[4] in its Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor published in 2013.

Notes

  1. ↑ Edmondson, Linda Harriet (1992). Women and Society in Russia and the Soviet Union.
  2. ↑ Russian Criminal Code 1996, Article 242
  3. ↑ Osipov 2003, Oblaka
  4. ↑ Russia, 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor

References

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