The lower house of the Russian parliament has passed a bill banning advertisements, films and books promoting “childfree life” as the country recorded its lowest birth rate since 1999 in the first six months of 2024. Programs similar to South Korea’s I Live Alone or My Golden Kids may also fall under the scope of such regulations.
On November 12th (local time), the New York Times and other outlets reported that Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, unanimously passed a bill prohibiting “propaganda” that fosters negative perceptions of childbirth.
Introduced in September and supported by the Kremlin, The bill is expected to be approved by the upper house of parliament and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
It bans the depiction of a childless lifestyle as appealing in media, including on the internet, films, and advertisements. Violators face fines of up to $4,000 for individuals (approximately 5.6 million KRW) and $50,000 for organizations (approximately 70 million KRW).
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized, “We must do everything to increase the birth rate. Anything hindering this goal must be eliminated.”
Russia has been grappling with a severely low birth rate and is implementing various measures to address it.
On the same day, the State Duma also passed legislation banning citizens of countries where gender reassignment is legal from adopting Russian children.
Last month, Andrei Gurulyov, a member of the State Duma’s Defense Committee, stirred controversy by proposing a “childlessness tax” akin to that of the Soviet era. He suggested that the revenue be used to modernize orphanages.
Since 2016, Russia’s deaths have outpaced its births, and this trend has worsened in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the number of births from January to June this year was 599,600, down 16,600 from the same period last year, marking the lowest level since 1999. The total fertility rate is also expected to plummet to 1.32 by the end of the year.
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