Russia cracks down on kwadrobika: New law targets child play

Russian politicians and pro-government media have recently taken on a trend considered particularly dangerous. Kwadrobika, gaining attention online in Russia, is seen as a threat to the country. The head of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, announced decisive actions, and work on legislation is ongoing.

The danger that the Kremlin seeks to combat by imposing serious legal bans is kwadrobika. This is a recent popular activity among children that involves dressing up as animals.

"Quadrobics (from the Latin quattuor - 'four' and the English aerobics - 'aerobics') is an unofficial sport where people move on all fours, mimicking animal movements, using masks and artificial tails. On the one hand, it's challenging acrobatics similar to the movements of parkour athletes, providing an even workload for all body parts. On the other hand, it's a strange hobby that sometimes turns into inappropriate behavior," explains the portal rbc.ru, for example.

The media is full of similar warnings. The explanation is always the same - children fall into the trap of a dangerous trend because it's a simple and accessible form of "avoidance behavior," an "escape from reality". Russian media view it as a sign of a lack of attention and support from parents and teachers and a straightforward path to disengagement from intellectual and physical development and communal activities.

According to "Gazeta Wyborcza," Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the Duma and theoretically the fourth most important person in the state, condemned the new phenomenon on social media. He wrote that children's crawling is "dehumanizing," as dangerous as "distancing from the church" or the "child-free movement" that supports being childless.

"Today, we are at a stage where people are pushed not only towards leaving behind gender identity but also human identity. They want to try themselves as an animal," Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also discussed the issue. During official talks with Armenian representative Ararat Mirzoyan, he asked about wardrobes. The startled Armenian replied that he had heard of them.

Member of Parliament Jana Lantratova is the author of a draft law that aims to condemn "destructive ideology" and introduce top-down bans. The proposals include heavy fines and the automatic revocation of parental rights for parents whose children crawl, bark, or meow.

Source: "Gazeta Wyborcza"