Promoting a child-free lifestyle in the media, films or advertising leads to fines that can range from 4,000 to 47 thousand euros.
Russian deputies this Tuesday approved a bill that prohibits the promotion of a childless lifestyle, in a context of demographic crisis worsened by the conflict in Ukraine and the defense of “traditional values”.
People accused of promote a child-free lifestyle in social media, films or advertising incur heavy fines – nearly 4.000 eurosaccording to the approved text.
Double the amount may be applied to public servants, while legal entities may be fined up to the amount of 47.000 euros.
The text still has to be approved by the Upper House on the 20th and signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are passing this bill to protect our young people from useless ideologies,” commented Nina Ostanina, chairman of the Family Policy Committee of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.
In addition to defend so-called traditional valuesthe bill aims to mitigate the deep Russian demographic crisisinherited from the Soviet era. In July, the Kremlin acknowledged that the situation was “catastrophic for the future of the nation.”
In 2023, the fertility rate in Russia was 1.41 children per woman of childbearing age, according to the first estimates by the Russian statistics agency (Rosstat), cited by the economic daily RBC.
