A domestic violence law could discourage men from getting married, the chair of Russia’s State Duma committee on family protection, paternity, maternity, and childhood, Nina Ostanina, said.

“Will young people get married if this law is passed? Or will men be afraid, because any touch at home directed at a wife — given the sometimes impulsive statements of our women — could be considered an assault on physical and psychological wellbeing.”

In an interview with the Moskva news agency, Ostanina said the authors of the domestic violence bill should present an “analysis” of “how it will affect the desire to start new families and how it will affect the current divorce rate.”

Right now, she said, “eight out of ten families” end in divorce. If the domestic violence law passes, she predicted, “ten out of ten” will.

Ostanina also said existing legislation already provides for criminal penalties for physical violence regardless of where it occurs.

Attempts to pass a domestic violence law in Russia have been ongoing for more than a decade. In 2016, a bill “On the Prevention of Domestic Violence in the Russian Federation,” developed with the participation of then–State Duma deputy Oksana Pushkina, was introduced to parliament. Its consideration was later frozen.

In 2017, domestic violence was decriminalized. For a first offense, the aggressor faces only a fine of 5,000 to 30,000 rubles, administrative arrest, or compulsory labor (most often a fine), while criminal penalties apply only in cases of repeat offenses.

In 2024, the New People party made another attempt to introduce a domestic violence bill. In 2025, it received a negative review from the government. On June 19, 2026, New People lawmaker Ksenia Goryacheva submitted a new draft law to the government for review, proposing criminal liability for battery against close relatives and family members. No response has yet been issued.