Kremlin targets childlessness propaganda to reverse population decline
For three years, Russia has been experiencing a demographic catastrophe. The Kremlin intends to tackle this by introducing controversial legislation "in defence of traditional values." This legislation bans so-called childlessness propaganda.
Specifically, the legislation prohibits the promotion of a child-free lifestyle, which is the conscious decision not to have children. Henceforth, promoting childlessness in any medium, including media, Russian films, or advertisements, will not be allowed.
The legislation, initiated by the ruling United Russia party, also applies to social media, making it illegal to promote childlessness there.
Defence of traditional values
The legislation's proponents, spearheaded by Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, argue that "childlessness propaganda" opposes Russian "traditional values" built upon a "strong family." They claim that childlessness leads to the "degradation of social institutions."
Upon enactment, those promoting conscious childlessness will face severe penalties. For promoting childlessness online, individuals could be fined up to 400,000 roubles (over £3,200). For advertisements with similar content, fines could reach up to 5 million roubles (about £40,000).
Demographic catastrophe in Russia
Russia has been grappling with a demographic catastrophe for many years, and the invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated this situation. According to data from the Russian Statistical Office (Rosstat), only about 1.2 million children were born in Russia last year. By contrast, over 1.9 million children were born in 2014. The situation was worse only in the 1990s, immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union.
The Kremlin also includes millions of residents from the occupied territories of Ukraine in its statistics. Without this inclusion, the number of Russian citizens would have drastically decreased over the past nearly three years, partly due to the thousands of soldiers who have perished in the war.
Additionally, Russian authorities are increasingly advocating for the limitation of abortions, which can currently be performed on request (under health insurance) up to the 12th week of pregnancy. In 2022 alone, over half a million abortions were carried out.
