Russian political and religious leaders see in the defense of “traditional values” an extension of Russia’s struggle against the West, accused of moral “decadence”.
Russian MPs on Tuesday adopted a law banning the promotion of a “child-free” lifestyle, a measure taken in the context of a demographic crisis in Russia exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s defense of ” traditional values”, reports Le Télégramme.
This law, voted unanimously in the Duma and which must still be approved by the upper house of Parliament (the Council of the Federation) on November 20, is part of the ultraconservative turn of Russian power on social issues, initiated by Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to the law, individuals who engage in the promotion of a “childfree” lifestyle would risk heavy fines, up to 400,000 rubles (around 4,000 euros) for individuals and the double for civil servants. Legal entities could be fined up to five million rubles (47,000 euros).
“The strong family proclaimed as a traditional value”
Political and religious leaders see in the defense of “traditional values” an extension of Russia’s struggle against the West, accused of moral “decadence”.
“The strong family has been proclaimed as a traditional value” in Russia in 2022, underline the authors of the text. They add that “one of the threats to traditional values is the promotion in Russian society of the ‘childless’ ideology, which results in a degradation of social institutions (…) and creates circumstances for depopulation “.
Proponents of the law are targeting communities and groups who could be subject to heavy fines for promoting a “Childfree” lifestyle and who would have an aggressive attitude towards “those who realize their need to be mothers or fathers”, whether either on the internet, in the media and books, films or advertisements.
The law also aims to respond to Russia’s demographic decline, inherited from the Soviet era. a problem that Vladimir Putin has never managed to resolve since he came to power a quarter of a century ago.
The Kremlin recognized in July a situation that was “catastrophic for the future of the nation.”
Worst number of births in 30 years
In 2023, the fertility rate in Russia was 1.41 children per woman of childbearing age, far from the population renewal rate.
According to statistics, 920,200 children were born in Russia between January and September 2024, a decrease of 3.4% compared to the same period of the previous year, the worst toll since the late 1990s.
As part of this policy of defending “traditional values”, the Supreme Court has already banned the “international LGBT+ movement”, described as “extremist”.
MPs also voted for a law banning the adoption of Russian children by nationals of countries authorizing gender transition and change of marital status, now banned in Russia. “In these countries, the situation is absolutely unacceptable for our children to be sent there,” commented Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, stressing that this had affected seven children in 2023.
“Today’s decision will result in all our children being adopted in their own country,” he said. This measure essentially excludes “NATO countries”, where gender transition is generally permitted.
Since 2013, Russia has already banned adoption by foreign homosexual couples or unmarried nationals from countries where same-sex union is legal.
