By Andrew L. Jaffee

I’ve often wondered why Russia freed itself from communism, only to slide back to the paternalistic ways of authoritarian rule (e.g., Putin). Even though there’s been obvious vote rigging, and squelching of the media, it’s probably fair to say that the major of Russians voted for Putin because he makes them feel secure. While skimming some headlines this week, I finally found some insight into Russia’s love for paternalism — literally.

Recently, a Russian judge threw a woman’s sexual harassment case out of court on the grounds that, “If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children.” Huh? Read the statistics — and weep. From the Telegraph:

… According to a recent survey, 100 per cent of female professionals said they had been subjected to sexual harassment by their bosses, 32 per cent said they had had intercourse with them at least once and another seven per cent claimed to have been raped.

Eighty per cent of those who participated in the survey said they did not believe it possible to win promotion without engaging in sexual relations with their male superiors.

Women also report that it is common to be browbeaten into sex during job interviews, while female students regularly complain that university professors trade high marks for sexual favours.

Only two women have won sexual harassment cases since the collapse of the Soviet Union, one in 1993 and the other in 1997.

Human rights activists say that Russian women remain second-class citizens and are subjected to some of the highest levels of domestic abuse in the world.