Russian parliamentarians on Thursday approved the first reading of a bill banning “propaganda” of a childless lifestyle. This is the latest move by Moscow to target what it portrays as Western liberal ideology.
Faced with an aging population and declining birthrate, the Russian government is seeking to reverse a demographic recession, accelerated by the military offensive against Ukraine, that threatens its economic future.
Lawmakers unanimously supported a bill to ban “propaganda” that advocates “denial of childbirth.”
Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin appealed for support. “Today, there is a war going on on the ideological front,” he claimed.
The proposed legislation applies to public materials such as online, media, advertising and films.
Violators face fines of up to 400,000 rubles (approximately 402,000 yen) for individuals and up to 5 million rubles for companies. The bill also includes provisions to deport foreign nationals.
This would amend existing laws that already prohibit information deemed to promote LGBTQ relationships or gender change.
“We propose to cut off information threats,” Elvira Heitklova, one of the bill’s authors, introduced herself as a mother and grandmother, telling lawmakers.
More than 22% of Russian couples do not have children. She added that “manipulative techniques” are convincing Russians that “not having children is normal.”
～“Population Crisis”～
He said the “strategic” bill targets online content with titles such as “openly destructive content” and “10 reasons why you shouldn’t have children.”
“It’s not about individual choice or lifestyle; it’s precisely the propaganda that is subject to the ban.”
Russia banned LGBTQ-related “propaganda” to minors more than a decade ago, and expanded this to adults in 2022.
This effectively made it illegal to express LGBTQ people in public and media as part of a crackdown on what the Kremlin calls “non-traditional values.”
In his 2022 Decree, President Vladimir Putin set the policy goal of “strengthening Russia’s traditional spiritual and moral values.”
Oleg Nilov, head of the Just Russia Party, told parliament that the trend toward not having children “at a time of such a complex demographic crisis” is “extremely dangerous for our country.”
“This must be prohibited and strictly discouraged,” he said.
Chairman Volodin linked this phenomenon to the use of inclusive language in the United States and Europe, as well as unisex toilets.
“What will be the outcome? Sodom and Gomorrah, we don’t want that,” he said.
“Every free nation must protect itself.”
One lawmaker, Sardana Avksentieva, expressed some concerns about the bill, saying it would increase the “risk of censure.”
“People must be inspired to start families,” she added.
～Progress of declining birthrate～
The Kremlin appears to have expressed support for the bill.
“We must do everything necessary to increase the birth rate,” the group’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month.
Russia’s birth rate hit a 25-year low in the first half of 2024.
Hundreds of thousands of young people have been called up to fight in Ukraine or fled the country to avoid conscription.
In a bid to increase the number of births, President Putin has revived the Soviet tradition of awarding medals to parents of large families, while also giving them tax and welfare benefits.
Russian television airs fear-mongering reports about people who don’t want children, linking this trend to the United States.
Channel One reported last month, citing polls, that around one in 15 Russian women aged 30 to 40 do not want children, compared to one in five in Moscow. .
Russia last year banned what it called the “international LGBT movement” as part of a crackdown on “non-traditional” ideas since launching attacks on Ukraine in 2022.
Bar/J
