Russia has been getting a lot of flak from other countries for their recently proposed anti-gay legislation and vocal government officials lauding the decision. But there's another possible law coming for the Russian people that have people outside of Russia talking—its stance on divorce. The government believes it happens too much and is considering raising the price of a divorce almost 70-fold.
Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who served as Russia's president from 2008 and 2012, is vocally discussing a proposal submitted by senators that would increase the state fees for divorce to almost 30,000 rubles ($940), a huge rise from the current charge of 400 rubles ($12.50). Why? The rates are rising thanks to the leniency of the courts (almost no justification is needed) and the cheap rates. These proposed laws hope to change that.
"The motives (for the suggestion) are understandable: switch on your brain when you're getting married, otherwise there's going to be material penalties," the prime minister said.
Karina Krasnova, a lawyer from the company Russian Divorce, told the Associated Foreign Press: "In Russia the situation is very favorable for divorce. It's much cheaper because you can do it independently, because you'd don't need lawyers."
The Soviet Union was one of the first countries in the world to allow "no-fault" divorce requiring no justification for splitting, as the Communist state sought to destroy what it considered the bourgeois construct of the family. In the 1930s, 40% of Soviet marriages ended in divorce. Currently, the number is up to 51% according to a recent United Nations study.
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Russia considers raising divorce Russia considers raising divorce fees to avoid bad marriages (The Raw Story)