WOMEN’S MAN: Vladimir Putin is trying to meet Russia’s women. Photo: Alexander Kazakov / AP / NTB
“Till death do us part”, it says. But in Russia it may take on a slightly less literal meaning in the future.
Wednesday 7 February at 03:38
The short version
- The Russian National Assembly is considering a bill that would allow cohabitants of dead soldiers to marry them.
- The proposal will give survivors the right to support schemes and insurance payments.
- Lawyers believe the proposal could lead to conflicts and unjustified demands.
Sea view
The Russian Duma is considering a bill that would make it possible for cohabitants of fallen soldiers in the Ukraine war to marry them.
According to the bill, women should be able to change their marital status so that they are considered married to their deceased partner. This should give them the right to support schemes and insurance payments, writes the Danish channel TV2.
The proposal comes after President Vladimir Putin in December asked politicians to ensure that cohabiting women were not left without support if their partner died in the war.
Women with men in the war are at the same time among the most vocal – and rare – critics of Putin and the invasion of Ukraine, writes NBC.
WIDOW: Alima Tatiyeva lost her Russian husband when he was killed Ukraine. Here she is during a ceremony in Volgograd, Russia in 2022. Photo: Alexandr Kulikov / AP / NTB
The criteria
According to the bill, a court must be able to recognize a relationship as a marriage if the couple has lived together for at least three years or had children together. In the latter case, one year of cohabitation shall be sufficient.
The date of marriage is then set to the day they started living together.
The official number of dead Russian soldiers is unknown, but BBC Russian has identified over 43,000 killed by name. It is believed that the real figure is far higher.
The new bill joins other measures by the Russian authorities to help survivors of fallen soldiers.
For example, it was made easier to have a missing soldier declared dead, so that compensation can be paid to the family, writes TV2.
Also read: Tucker Carlson says he will interview Vladimir Putin
Skeptical lawyers
However, according to the Russian newspaper Novye Izvestia, several lawyers are skeptical about how to prove cohabitation afterwards, the website wrote Kursdela.
Agreements, receipts, photos and witness statements are brought forward by a lawyer as possible evidence.
Several lawyers believe that the bill is too poorly researched and that it could lead to unjustified financial demands and conflicts.
Some also predict that parents may have to fight alleged cohabitants over payments from the Russian state after a soldier’s death.
– I want to point out that it is necessary to be careful to avoid abuse, but it is undoubtedly important to also think about supporting those women who have lived in cohabitation with their men, Putin has stated, according to the TASS news agency.
This article was created in part using AI tools from Anthropic, and quality assured by VG’s journalists.
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2024-02-07 02:38:17
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