Russia targets 'quadrobics': The controversy over kids' play

Russian politicians and pro-government media have recently become seriously engaged with a trend considered particularly dangerous. Kwadrobika, gaining attention online in Russia, is described as a threat to the country. The head of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, announced decisive actions. Work on legislation is ongoing.

The danger that the Kremlin wants to combat by imposing serious legal bans is kwadrobika, a popular recent activity among children that involves dressing up as animals.

In Poland, this trend might have gone unnoticed or been viewed simply as a form of play when a child wears a dog or cat mask and imitates animal movements. However, Russian media is reporting serious reports about this concerning trend. Articles include discussions by specialists on how many adverse consequences this phenomenon carries.

"Quadrobics (from the Latin quattuor - 'four' and the English aerobics - 'aerobics') is an unofficial sport where people move on all fours, mimicking animal movements, using masks and artificial tails. On the one hand, it's a challenging exercise similar to the movements of parkour athletes, which provides an even workload for all body parts. On the other hand, it's a strange hobby that sometimes turns into inappropriate behaviour," explains the portal rbc.ru.

The media is full of similar warnings. The explanation is always the same - children fall into the trap of a dangerous trend because it's a simple and accessible form of "avoidance behaviour" or "escape from reality". Russian media view it as a sign of a lack of attention and support from parents and teachers and a straightforward path to disengagement from intellectual and physical development and communal activities.

According to "Gazeta Wyborcza," Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the Duma, theoretically the fourth most important person in the state, condemned the new phenomenon on social media. He wrote that children's crawling is "dehumanizing," as dangerous as "distancing from the church" or the "child-free movement" that endorses being childless.

"Today, we are at a stage where people are pushed not only towards leaving behind gender identity but also human identity. They want to try themselves as an animal," Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also discussed the issue. During official talks with the Armenian representative, Ararat Mirzoyan, he asked about wardrobes. The startled Armenian replied that he had heard of them.

Member of Parliament Jana Lantratova is the author of a draft law that aims to condemn "destructive ideology" and introduce top-down bans. The proposals involve heavy fines and automatic revocation of parental rights for parents whose children crawl, bark, or meow.