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The 'World's Oldest Profession' is Still Lucrative in Russia
April 20, 1999
Obtaining reliable figures on the number of prostitutes operating in Russia is
an impossible task. While there are no official statistics, a recent report by
the Moscow City police estimated that about 80,000 women engage in prostitution
in downtown Moscow.
Last year, Moscow police detained 70,821 women for prostitution. These figures
give some indication of the scale of the problem nationwide.
Prostitutes are also a lucrative export. In France, women from Russia and
Ukraine walk the streets of Nice and other French Riviera towns. Russian
prostitutes offer their services in Amsterdam, New York, and Hamburg. They
follow in the wake of Russian "shop tourists," (who buy up cheap knick-knacks
to sell in Russia) and seem better received than many other Russian exports. In
Turkey, a popular destination for Russians, the name Natasha has become a
synonym for prostitute.
Most Russian prostitutes abroad work for prostitution rings. Often, the promise
of some glamorous job in fashion or entertainment lured them out of Russia.
Russian newspapers often carry stories about women whisked abroad and exploited
in the sex industry, but that does not deter girls who dream of seeing the
world from responding to ads for "dancers" and "models." In many cases, as soon
as they arrive, their passports are taken away and they become sex slaves with
no rights and no legal status.
On television recently, the prostitutes who supposedly entertained Prosecutor
General Yuri Skuratov explained how they received $3,000 each to fly to the
Black Sea resort city of Sochi. That is the kind of money that has destitute
girls from the provinces dreaming of coming to Moscow, working for a while, and
then beginning a decent life.
Most Moscow prostitutes come from the provinces, or from countries like Ukraine
and Moldova. The younger ones in particular are lured by what they see as a
romantic life of luxury hotels, glamorous makeup, bright lights, and big city.
They soon discover the harsh reality of the market. Only carefully selected
women work the hotels, and "serving" foreign tourists is a market already
carved up and strictly controlled. Pimps take the biggest cut, and girls have
to pay doctors, buy cosmetics and clothes, and pay off policemen. The workplace
is more often a railway station than a fancy hotel. And it is not bundles of
dollars that change hands, but practically pocket change. On top of all this,
there are the occupational hazards of venereal disease, violence, alcoholism,
and drugs.
As well as the at least 80,000 women engaged in prostitution on Moscow's
streets, there are countless more who sell sex but would not call themselves
prostitutes. Lyuba K. is a typical example. She arrived in Moscow from a small
town and moved into a water transport workers' hostel. She couldn't find a job
and when her money ran out, she was invited to stay on at the hostel in return
for providing "various services." Such stories are depressingly commonplace in
Russia's big cities.
Recent years have also seen a rise in child prostitution. Street children
resort to sex to survive. They charge only 20 or 30 rubles, but it is enough to
buy a little food.
The link between living on the streets and prostitution has already been well
established. In the Archangelsk Region last year, police picked up 9,000
teenagers living in the rough. Criminal proceedings were started against 319
people for using children in unlawful activities, and 18 people were sentenced
for sex with minors.
Poverty is one factor contributing to the rise in prostitution. Another is
domestic violence, often the reason children run away from home. Girls who have
seen their mothers beaten at home are particularly vulnerable. Many come to see
women as inferior beings that men can use and abuse as they please.
At one point, it looked as though the Duma lower house of parliament was
finally about to address the issue of violence in the home. A bill titled "On
Prevention of Domestic Violence" was introduced by the Committee on Women,
Family and Youth. But it never got past the first reading, and the committee
eventually gave it up.
So long as Russia remains mired in its economic and social crisis, prostitution
will continue to flourish. Moscow police say that in the first two months of
this year, they arrested 12.7 percent more women for prostitution than in the
same period of 1998.
The numerous conferences held by various women's groups have not had a great
impact. Foreign countries can to try to stem the flow of Russian prostitutes
across their borders, but it will be much harder to control the situation
within Russia. Slapping fines on prostitutes does about as much good as
preaching sermons in the street. The only consolation is that women who have
taken up the "oldest profession" are not spurned by Russian society. Russians
were all brought up on Dostoyevsky and remember that a fallen woman can still
have a pure soul.
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