Shrek, the Grinch, and Pixar’s cartoon monsters aren’t laughing matters in Russia anymore. On Monday, lawmakers in the State Duma launched a sharp attack on Western children’s entertainment, calling it “destructive” for the moral development of Russian youth, according to The Moscow Times.
“They don’t seem bad, but they have both physical and personality flaws,” said Yana Lantratova, a member of the pro-Kremlin minority party A Just Russia. During her presentation, Lantratova displayed a series of slides comparing Soviet-era children’s films to American productions from the past two decades — on one side, idealized, morally upright characters; on the other, ogres, grotesque creatures, and caricatured antiheroes.
“Gradually, with the infiltration of Western culture, characters began to appear who embodied negative traits but were elevated to the status of positive characters,” one of the slides read. “The image of the purely positive character began to fade.”
Sergei Mironov, the leader of A Just Russia, went further, accusing the West of using soft power to undermine Russian society through its youngest citizens. “Unfortunately, [Western countries] are very actively engaged in indoctrinating our children,” he said. “It’s a hybrid war. If you want to defeat the enemy, raise their children.”
Lantratova, who also chairs the Duma’s committee on civil society and religious organizations, pointed to legal shortcomings that currently prevent Russian authorities from blocking imported children’s content. “There’s a legal gray area. We need clear regulation. Right now, it’s impossible to intervene effectively,” she said.
The proposals discussed during the roundtable will be forwarded to a parliamentary working group tasked with drafting legislation to promote “traditional Russian spiritual values” — an initiative that has become a legislative priority in recent months, especially when it comes to shaping the next generation’s cultural and moral compass.
