POLICE in Siberia have broken up a lecture on feminism being given by a Scottish student.
Authorities said Harriet Phillips had breached the terms of her visa by speaking at an event in the industrial city of Krasnoyarsk on Monday.
Local media said that Ms Phillips, who is 21 and studies at Cambridge, had been speaking for around half an hour when she was interrupted.
It is understood she was not allowed to continue her lecture and that she faces a fine of 2000 rubles, about £25, for immigration offences. Ms Phillips, according to the Krasnoyarsk edition of the Moskovskiy Komsomolets or MK newspaper, had been in Russia on a tourist visa and did not have the right to make public speeches.
The student has posted news of her run-in with the law on social media but has not commented.
Her lecture was advertised as a discussion of the history of feminism in western Europe and North America and a comparison with the women’s movement in Russia.
MK Krasnoyarsk cited an eyewitness who said two immigration officials had stopped the lecture after 30 minutes. Organisers announced a 15-minute technical break.
“The meeting never did resume, because, according to the officers, the purpose of Harriet’s visit was tourism and she had no right to read a lecture. She was taken away by officials of the Federal Migration Service.”
Other sources said the men were police officers.
The current Russian Government of Vladimir Putin is widely seen as supporting traditional values.
In an interview with the Financial Times last month Mr Putin suggested that liberalism was “obsolete”. Russia in 2017 introduced legislation making it harder to prosecute domestic violence. The move became known as the “slapping law”. and meant first time offenders were fined rather than jailed for assaults on partners.
Local news sources, however, said that the organisers of Ms Phillips’ event were not in any trouble. There are numerous feminist organisations in Russia and a recent resurgence has seen protests, including a giant vagina, on the streets of major cities.
Russian feminist group Pussy Riot, meanwhile, have announced that they will perform in the US state of Alabama to protest against restrictions there on abortion rights.
UK nationals require a visa to visit the Russian Federation. Minor infractions of the visa regime are relatively common.
Ms Phillips is understood to have spent time studying at St Petersburg University and was said by organisers of her event to speak fluent Russian.
A local police representative told the press: “A British citizen entered the Russian Federation on a tourist visa. However, in Krasnoyarsk the girl made a public appearance, which does not correspond with the state purpose of her entry in to the country.”
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