The move has drawn mockery on social media, with one wondering whether Russia is still a secular state. Another has more practical concerns : "How am I supposed to eat the cake now - just bite into it?" But the mayor's office is standing firm. "Some have the impression that this is a human rights violation, but this is not the case," culture department head Dina Shagidayeva tells Russian news agency RIA Novosti . She says the rules are needed because of people's failure to stop "our traditions collapsing or our nation decaying", and may be extended to other social events, such as birthdays and anniversary celebrations. Since the bans were unveiled, "wedding raids" have already been carried out and monitoring teams deployed to Grozny weddings, the Tass news agency reports.