Members of the State Duma (Russian Parliament) and activist organizations in Russia have called for the ban of Turkish soap operas because their perfect male protagonists put Russian men in a bad light.

Representatives of the “Veterans of Russia” movement have appealed to the Russian State Duma and Roskomnadzor (the agency responsible for monitoring and censoring the media in Russia) to ban Turkish soap operas, due to their projection of an “unrealistic image of men,” which makes women lose interest in Russian men, ultimately contributing to the country’s demographic decline. In its petition, Veterans of Russia proposed introducing the concept of ‘destructive propaganda,’ calling Turkish soap operas part of an ‘ideologic war for minds’ that target Russian women and threaten to destroy the institution of family in the country.

“Ladies, having watched enough of these soap operas, lose interest in our gentlemen, expecting unrealistic behavior from them, shaped by foreign film productions,” Ildar Rezyapov, chairman of Veteran of Russia, explained. “Turkish TV series are part of an ideological war for minds, including those of our women. It would be interesting to know whether Russian TV series are broadcast in Turkey, whether our movie stars go there, and whether crowds of Turkish women line up to see them. It is highly doubtful.”

The idea of banning Turkish soap operas in Russia is not new. Last summer, deputy Vitaly Milonov proposed it and discussed it at length during a radio interview in which he called them “complete nonsense”, noting that they show “a life that does not correspond to reality”. Milonov added that female fans of Turkish soap operas think that in Turkey “everything is like they see on TV”, so the idea of ​​marrying a Turk becomes attractive to Russian women.

“These kebab sellers who suddenly decided that they are good actors. There is not a single sensible actor in Turkey, they are all absolutely talentless, cheap buffoons,” the indignant politician said in his interview.

The proposal to ban Turkish soap operas has found some support in the State Duma, but several female fans have criticized the idea, claiming that all these soaps do is offer some respite from the stress and hardships of daily life in Russia. TV presenter Ksenia Borodina told deputies to “relax”, adding that watching Turkish soaps was just “another way to relax, look at beautiful pictures, which helps to distract from a hard day at work and the negativity happening around.”

Actress Irina Alferova also confessed her love for Turkish soap operas, claiming that the simplicity of the love stories portrayed in them and the handsome actors are hard to resist.

“One is fair, another is small, the third is huge. But all of them are drop-dead gorgeous,  and the women are so free, it’s amazing!” Alferova wrote on social media.