The Kremlin's top doctor encouraged all Russians this week to take part in a “sex in the workplace” scheme, in a move supporting President Vladimir Putin's efforts to combat a worsening demographic crisis.
Despite cash incentives, tax cuts, nationwide efforts to discourage abortions, and long-standing attempts by President Putin to boost births in the country, Russia's birth rate in the first six months of 2024 is set to be the lowest in 25 years, according to a report released following the UN's World Population Rates survey.
Speaking at the Eurasian Women's Forum on Wednesday, Putin encouraged women's roles in the workplace but also reiterated his push for higher birth rates.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Eurasian Women's Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, September 18, 2024. (Sputnik/Grigoriy Sysoev/Pool via Reuters)
Amid the war in Ukraine, Russia's population is suffering a historic decline, exacerbating its demographic crisis
“The right conditions are being created for women to be professionally successful while remaining the guardians of the home and the backbone of large families with many children,” he said. Newsweek Report.
The Kremlin chief was quoted as saying that women can bear the burdens of both being a career woman and a mother because “they have secrets that men cannot understand.”
When asked by a female journalist when women should find time to manage their households, Russian Health Minister Dr. Yevgeny Shestopalov said, “Being busy at work is not a valid reason, it's just an excuse.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets local residents and hugs a crying baby in Ivanovo, 230 kilometers east of Moscow, on March 6, 2020. Putin is on a day visit to Ivanovo. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
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“Some people work 12-14 hour days, when are they going to have children?” Shestopalov was asked, Metro reported.
“You can reproduce during your break,” he replied, adding, “Life goes by so quickly.”
Female Russian lawmakers, including Anna Kuznetsova and Zhanna Ryabtseva, have also joined the movement, encouraging women to start families as soon as they turn 18 and to maximize their childbearing years.
Russian parliament member Tatyana Butskaya has encouraged employers to monitor the birth rates of their female employees, Sky News Australia reported.
In Moscow, women between the ages of 18 and 40 are also encouraged to undergo fertility tests.
A woman and a child walk in front of an armored vehicle at the Perevalnoye military base near the Crimean city of Simferopol on March 21, 2014. (Reuters/Shamil Zhummatov)
“This new effort to have more babies in Russia is consistent with previous efforts by the Russian government to improve demographics and increase the size of the future workforce,” Rebecca Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer and author of “Putin's Playbook,” told Fox News Digital. “While the Kremlin has described Russia's declining birth rate as 'disastrous,' the reality is that Russia's demographics are not that different from those of most developed countries.”
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The United Nations predicts that Russia's population, currently around 140.8 million, will fall by 10 million by 2054.
According to a U.S. Census Bureau report, Russia currently has 1.5 children per woman, but according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reported by Newsweek, the birth rate would need to be 2.1 to maintain the current population rate.
