In a bid to stabilise its dwindling population, the lower house of Russian parliament has passed a bill banning advertisement, films and books promoting “childfree life” .
The bill passed earlier this week bans what the government calls “propaganda” which encourages people to not have children. This they say will help reverse the country’s declining birth rate.
Russia recorded its lowest birth rate since 1999 in the first six months of 2024 and President Vladimir Putin's government is trying to promote "traditional Russian values" and counter what it views as harmful Western ideologies.
Kremlin reportedly believes that with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the demographic challenges are posing a threat to the nation's long-term economic stability. The law if passed by the upper house will amend the legislation that already threatens the queer community in the country.
All About New Law Passed In Russia
The Russian news agency TASS has described that the new law aims at “promoting voluntary childlessness online, through the media, movies and advertisements.”
Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the lower house was quoted saying that the new law will 'protect' people, especially the younger generation who he said have "the ideology of childlessness imposed on them" and he also mentioned that the new law will effect the decision of women who do not want to have children.
Penalty For Breaching The Law
According to Reuters, the fine for breaching this law is up to 400,000 roubles (Rs 4,50,000) for individuals, twice that amount for officials, and up to 5 million roubles (Rs 5,650,000) for legal entities.
Some reports also mentioned that the law will be applicable for foreign nationals “who promote the child-free movement” and penalty of up to 100,000 rubles (Rs 1,13,000) and even deportation can be faced by them.
The law has been approved by the lower house and will now be reviewed by the upper house of the parliament before being ratified by President Putin.
Rise Of 'Traditional Values', Threat To LGBTQIA Community
The Putin-led Russian government is trying to uphold 'traditional value systems' with the new law which poses as an attack to the freedom of women in the country and also poses as a looming threat to the queer community there. Reportedly, TASS described the law to be “in line with the punishment for promoting non-traditional sexual relations and gender reassignment.”
This is not new in the Putin government as feminists, LGBTQ+ activists and independent journalists have faced the wrath of extremism. Women have faced difficulty in accessing safe abortionas per reports, and an Indian Express report said that Russian Ministers have earlier appealed women to start family at the age of 18 instead of higher education.
A report by Agence France-Presse has said that Russia created an 'inhospitable' environment for LBGTQ people for years after they called "international LGBT movement" extremist and banned gender reassignment last year.
The lower house have also passed a legislation banned foreigners from countries that allow gender reassignment surgeries to adopt Russian children.
Russia’s Declining Birth Rate
Russia’s population has declined over the years, as per Reuters which showcased that in the first half of 2024, only 599,600 children were born, the lowest number since 1999. June marked a milestone with a 6 per cent decline in live births, falling below 100,000 for the first time.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths increased by 18 per cent, reaching 325,100 in the first six months of the year—an extra 49,000 deaths compared to the same period in 2023, largely due to casualties from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The decline is affecting the labour market leading to lower productivity and output.
Russian Labour Minister Anton Kotyakov told Russia’s Izvestia newspaper that the manufacturing, construction and transport sectorsare already facing troubles due to shortage of labour. The IMF has forcasted that the demographic decline trend may lead to 0.5 per cent shrinkage of the country's economy every year.
