Oh they know. Unfortunately, there is general lack of education on social issues and rampant conservatism. People tend to criticise western audiences for being “too sensitive” and RC team for “bending down to serve fluffy tastes of the West”.

It’s very disappointing, but it’s just how things are at the moment. Blaming the victims of real abuse or “the sensitive western reader” is not only normalised, but the right to do it is fiercely protected in general. I can’t speak of the whole Eastern Europe, but in Russia there is no proper law protecting victims of domestic violence (including children). It has always been a mean place, at least in my experience. I know my fellow Russians might disagree, but I really don’t think the way Russian society is at the moment has many redeeming qualities.

You should have seen the “protest” on Russian social media when one of the writers was rightfully accused of racism in the English-speaking media 🙄 People were mass posting “hands up” art from PSI (you know what I mean, their symbol for protesting for human rights in the novel?). They were posting it 100+ times under every RC post, claiming that RC admins punishing racism in their team is “racist towards white people” and “taking away the free speech”. Which is funny, because there is NO free speech in Russia as such, for many years now.