In Russia, where the Kremlin promotes traditional values, many citizens believe it is a woman’s patriotic duty to give birth and become a mother.
The experience was surprising for Amie Ferris-Rotman, who is originally from the UK and has lived in Russia for years as a foreign correspondent.
In 2019, she became pregnant with her first child.
Ferris-Rotman, a global news editor for New Lines Magazine, said that while the experience was “overwhelmingly positive,” she did notice many cultural differences. She wrote about it in a personal essay called, “What my pregnancy in Moscow taught me of Russia’s Putin.”
In the essay, she details some of the reasons why motherhood and motherland are linked throughout history. She said that throughout her pregnancy in Russia, notions of motherhood and motherland were inextricably intertwined.
“Everything about it is about women and what women can then do for the state,” she said.
She talked about it with The World’s host Marco Werman.
To hear the full interview, click on the audio player above.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!