Single and No-Kids Families Praised on Broadcast Fined 70 Million Won... This Place Takes Strong Measures Against Low Birthrate

Russian Lower House Proposes Bill to Address Low Birthrate
Ban on All Media Promoting Negative Perceptions
Birthrate Declines as War Deaths Increase

In Russia, which is facing the problem of low birth rates, a bill is reportedly being promoted to ban media content that glamorizes a child-free life in order to increase the birth rate. On the 12th (local time), the US New York Times (NYT) reported, "On this day, the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, unanimously passed a bill banning 'propaganda' that promotes negative perceptions of childbirth."

The bill was proposed last September and received the Kremlin's support. It is expected to be signed by President Putin after approval by the Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly. The bill includes a ban on all media such as the internet, films, and advertisements that portray a child-free lifestyle attractively. Violators face fines of up to $4,000 (about 5.6 million KRW) for individuals and up to $50,000 (about 70 million KRW) for corporations. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said, "We must do everything necessary to increase the birth rate," adding, "Anything that hinders this must disappear."

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the number of births from January to June this year was 599,600, a decrease of 16,600 compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest since 1999. In particular, the number of newborns in June alone was 98,600, falling below 100,000 for the first time on a monthly basis. The total fertility rate is expected to plummet to 1.32 by the end of this year.

In response, Russian government officials are also making every effort to solve the low birth rate problem. In July, spokesperson Peskov called the low birth rate "catastrophic" and emphasized that restoring the birth rate is one of Russia's "top priorities." Nina Ostanina, chairperson of the National Family Protection Committee, said in an interview with the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, "We need to carry out a special demographic operation like a special military operation," and added, "I will propose to the government the establishment of a demographic center so that the state can promote unified measures against low birth rates."

Related bills are also emerging one after another. On the same day, the State Duma passed a bill banning citizens of countries where gender reassignment is legalized from adopting children from Russia. Last month, Andrey Gurulyov, a member of the State Duma Defense Committee, proposed a 'childless tax' from the Soviet era. The idea is to introduce a tax on childless families to secure tax revenue and use it for modernizing orphanages.

While the birth rate is declining, concerns about population decline are rising as the number of deaths increases due to the war in Ukraine. According to Euronews, the number of deaths in Russia in the first half of this year increased by 49,000 compared to the same period last year. During the same period, immigrants increased by 20.1%, partially mitigating the population decline, but the total population decreased by 18%. In June, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said, "If Russia's population decline does not improve, there could be a shortage of up to 2.4 million workers by 2030."