The largest community supporting mothers, #щастьематеринства ("Happiness of Motherhood"), has ceased its activities due to the law on "childfree propaganda." In mid-October, administrators deleted all posts and made the group private. On October 24, 7x7 discovered a post from the administrator in a like-minded group titled #щастьебытьженой ("Happiness of Wifehood").
Subscribers from various regions of Russia expressed that the group was "the only escape for tired mothers," "the sole reason to continue using VKontakte," and "a personal antidepressant." According to the women, they lost "the last refuge to express their emotions when no one among their loved ones understands their pain and fatigue."
In mid-October, the administrators deleted all posts from the group and made it private.
"We deleted everything to avoid persecution. We are not prepared to moderate all 100500100500 posts accumulated over nine years to dodge charges of 'continuous violation,' and the fines are monstrous," wrote the group administrator.
She believes that in recent years, discussions about motherhood issues have become more widespread in Russia and that "the process is underway."
The #щастьематеринства group had existed since 2015 and had nearly 150,000 subscribers. Women used it to share the difficulties they faced as mothers and to support one another. They discussed how society exerts pressure on mothers and often ignores their emotional well-being. Some women confessed that they regretted their decision to have children.
On October 17, the State Duma adopted the law prohibiting "childfree propaganda" in its first reading. Deputies proposed fines of up to 400,000 rubles for individuals and up to 5 million rubles for legal entities. In five regions of Russia, private clinics have completely or partially refused to perform abortions after discussions with local officials. The authorities in ten regions have introduced fines for "encouraging abortions," while the Ministry of Health has limited the sale of certain emergency contraceptive pills.