Mick Hartley

For a man with a name like Leonid Slutsky, a derogatory attitude to women is only to be expected. From the Times (£):

One of Russia’s most powerful politicians told female journalists working in parliament that they should give up their jobs if they felt intimidated by sexual harassment.

Vyacheslav Volodin’s comments came after a series of harassment allegations made against Leonid Slutsky, a senior nationalist MP.

Mr Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, was speaking to a group of female journalists yesterday on the eve of International Women’s Day, a public holiday in Russia.

In the past two weeks three reporters have accused Mr Slutsky, 50, of groping and kissing them without consent, in the first sign of the Me Too campaign reaching Russia. One of them, from the BBC, recorded Mr Slutsky allegedly saying: “I don’t feel people up. Well, OK, just a little.”  […]

Farida Rustamova, of the BBC’s Russian service, alleged this week that she was harassed by Mr Slutsky in his office a year ago. During an interview recorded by Ms Rustamova, Mr Slutsky is claimed to ask abruptly if she would like to work for him. When she refused, he said: “You’re trying to get away from me, you don’t want to kiss me, you’ve hurt my feelings.”

Ms Rustamova can be heard explaining that she has a boyfriend whom she hopes to marry. “Great, you’ll be his wife, and my mistress,” Mr Slutsky responds. She claims the politician then approached her and began “running his hand, the flat of his palm, up against my nether region”.

Last week Darya Zhuk, a television producer, said Mr Slutsky had forcibly tried to kiss and touch her in 2014. Last month Yekaterina Kotrikadze, a TV executive, claimed that Mr Slutsky locked his office door and “tried to put me against a wall and touch me and kiss me”. She said: “I ran away.”

Mr Slutsky has said the allegations were fabricated. Tamara Pletneva, of parliament’s committee for family, women and children, suggested that the women were to blame because of how they dressed, saying they should not walk around “with bare navels”.

Then there's this MEMRI clip, from a Russian presidential debate last week, with candidate Vladimir Zhirinovski, the leader of the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), insulting his female opponent: "Take this whore away! Black dirt! Disgusting woman!"

Ah, that famous old Russian charm…