On Wednesday, the Russian parliament gave preliminary approval to a bill decriminalizing domestic violence. It's part of President Vladimir Putin's push for a return to traditional family values.
In the summer of 2016, Russia got its first law specifically directed at domestic violence. The parliament introduced the notion of "close ones" to Article 116 of the criminal code, which deals with battery. That group includes the suspect's children, spouse, parents, siblings and other relatives. Beating them without any consequences to their health became punishable with a jail term of up to two years. Many in Russia saw this as a necessary measure: according to women's rights activists, 10,000 Russian women a year die as a result of domestic violence. Official statistics say 40 percent of all serious violent crime takes place in the home.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-12/how-russia-decided-to-allow-a-little-domestic-violence
Russia moves to decriminalize domestic violence
A bill that seeks to downgrade domestic violence from a criminal to an administrative offense passed its first reading on Wednesday in the duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.
Under the proposed rule, the charge of “battery within the family,” currently a criminal offense, would become an administrative one, with a fine, community service or a brief prison term levied against perpetrators. Criminal charges would still be laid if the offense is committed two or more times in one year.
http://www.politico.eu/article/domestic-violence-russia-decriminalize/