The Russian parliament is working on a law that would ban what authorities describe as the harmful promotion of a childless lifestyle, with heavy fines for “childlessness propaganda”, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin has said .
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said lawmakers had begun considering legislation to ban what he described as propaganda on the Internet, in films, in advertising and in media that encourages ” a conscious refusal to have children.”
Putin, who has portrayed Russia as a bastion of “traditional values” locked in an existential struggle with a decadent West, has encouraged women to have at least three children, saying this will help secure Russians’ future.
Declining birth rates, increasing mortality
The issue took on greater urgency for authorities after official data released this month showed that Russia’s birth rate has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter of a century, while death rates are rising, without any glimpse the end of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Volodin has accused what authorities have described as the “childless movement” of devaluing the institution of the family with an ideology that state officials fear will discourage some women from having children.
“Groups and communities on social networks often show disrespect for motherhood and fatherhood and aggression towards pregnant women and children, as well as members of large families,” Volodin said.
“A large and friendly family is the basis of a strong state.”
Volodin said the bill includes fines of up to $10,000 for individuals found guilty of “childless” propaganda, fines of $20,000 for state officials and fines of up to $127,000 for businesses.
The legislation is modeled on aeffectively banning any public expression of queer life. Likewise, materials advocating for people to change their gender, a procedure banned in Russia, are banned.
When asked last Friday whether it was possible to ban the “childless” ideology, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said it was too early to comment, but that Russia needed initiatives to increase the birth rate.
“Increasing the birth rate is one of the top priorities for the entire government and the entire country,” said Peskov, who in July called the problem “catastrophic.”