A group of female teachers in Russia were reportedly told by an official that the best thing they could do was find a rich husband, during a meeting about pay cuts.
Nikolai Kosarev, a local legislator and the regional head of the All-Russia People’s Front (a coalition of pro-Kremlin groups), is said to have advised the mainly female audience to “find a well-off man.”
According to local news site 66.ru, Kosarev said:
“I want to give you some advice: Focus on your personal life and find a well-off man. There are lots of good men in Russia, including miners.”
He was speaking at a meeting at the Urals State Mining University, where teachers had come to discuss the issue of reductions to their salaries.
Kosarev also told the women that if these “good men” then went on to mistreat them, the All-Russia People’s Front would rescue them.
He later explained his comments to regional news site Ura.ru: “I think that a woman’s happiness can be found within the family.
“A woman should not work for the money, but for the art form … Men should support them. Otherwise, a woman turns into a workhorse who toils for 40 hours [a week] and on top of that should be loving, educating and taking care of the household.”
Teachers in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, where Kosarev was speaking, make around 29,600 rubles a month (£315), according to 66.ru. The sum is just short of the national average of 30,000 rubles (£320).
