Authors

Discussion

This paper together with other papers in the panel represent the reflection on participation in the CoE project “Co-operation on the implementation of the Russian Federation National Action Strategy for Women (2017–2022)”, in which Muravyeva and Hoare served as experts. The project facilitates knowledge creation and increases the capacity of relevant stakeholders in order to advance women’s empowerment and more effectively combat violence against women. The research was aimed at achieving balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making in Russia. It focussed on stock-taking of political participation of women in the Russian Federation and on providing recommendations for promoting women’s participation in political and public decision-making in Russia. In the course of preparing the report, women politicians were interviewed on the practices and strategies of promoting women to the public offices and representative bodies. In these interviews, gender equality became is problematic topic that provoked resistance not only on behalf of women-politicians but also from CoE personnel both in Russia and Strasbourg. I would like to apply post-feminist theoretical framework to explain such resistance to gender-based discourses of equality.