Locating Gender in the Discourses of Russian Public Authorities (the Case of State Duma Committee on Issues of Family, Women and Children)

This paper examines a gender perspective in the activities of the Committee of the State Duma of Russia on Family, Women and Children for the period of all seven convocations of the State Duma. The urgency of the problem is explained by the fact that the policy implemented in Russia at the federal level is contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the international commitments undertaken regarding the implementation of gender equality in the country. In the theoretical part of the work, we examine gender citizenship. A review of international experience and Russian mechanisms of institutional support for gender equality. The practical part of the study consists in the analysis of the rule-making activities and the rhetoric of the chairmen of the State Duma Committee. As a result of the analysis, the hypothesis was confirmed that the central theme of the committee throughout all the Duma convocations was the question of increasing the birth rate of the population through the provision of benefits. The author also succeeded in proving that the issues of women's interest were most often reflected during the third convocation of the State Duma, which accompanied the drafting of the federal law “On state guarantees of equal rights and freedoms of men and women and equal opportunities for their realization” at that time. As a result of the study, the problematic aspects of the Committee’s work (insufficient level of interaction with public women's organizations, lack of expert knowledge), as well as gaps in Russian legislation (lack of laws on gender equality, prevention of domestic violence) were highlighted. On the basis of the highlighted problems, ways of resolving the current situation were proposed.