Russia is facing a double crisis… fighting a war against Ukraine on one hand and registering a lower birth rate on the other! Reports suggest that the young Russians are reluctant to have babies. Hence, President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has decided to establish a Ministry of Sex in order to boost the birth rate! The main task of the proposed ministry would be to create sexual desire among young people and to encourage them to produce babies! According to the Russian media, one of Putin’s trusted ministers shall be in charge of the new ministry. Nina Ostanina, a loyalist to the Russian strongman and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Family Protection, Paternity, Maternity and Childhood, is looking into the plea, demanding such a ministry.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, nearly 0.6 million Russian soldiers have perished. The COVID-19 Pandemic badly hit Russia a couple of years before the Ukraine War (in 2020). As a result, the largest country in the world (by area) suddenly faced a population crisis. Now, the strong reluctance of the young Russian girls to have babies has worsened the situation.

President Putin had made a big announcement in August 2022 to increase the population, stating that his administration would offer a Mother Heroine medal (which ranks alongside awards for bravery and services to the state) and USD 16,000 to women for having at least 10 kids! At the same time, he had made clear that women would receive the amount only if their remaining nine children were alive during the birth of the 10th baby. However, the announcement failed to encourage the girls to produce more babies.

Dr Jenny Mathers, an expert in Russian politics, security, gender and conflict, has said that such schemes were in place to increase population during the Soviet era. This scheme, called Mother Heroine, was operational from 1944 to 1991. President Putin reintroduced the scheme in 2022 as the population decreased sharply. Since this scheme failed to encourage the Russian girls to have more babies, the Kremlin prepared a new plan. The Government of Russia decided to turn off the internet and even lights between 10pm and 2am in an attempt to encourage couples to get involved in intimate activities! The Russian officials argued that other late-night activities and access to the internet distracted young minds, prompting them to lose interest in physical relationships. However, the officials soon realised that it would not be possible to keep the internet and lights off for a long time at night.

In September 2024, President Putin proposed that employees should use their lunch and coffee breaks for intimate encounters in order to boost Russia’s population! His proposal triggered an uproar across the globe. Russian Health Minister Yevgeny Shestopalov echoed the similar concerns, dismissing the notion that busy work schedules should be an excuse. “You can engage in procreation during breaks because life flies by too quickly,” he stressed. When asked how those working 12-14 hours would find time to procreate, the minister replied: “During break times.” As per a report published in Metro on September 15, 2024, the current fertility rate stands at 1.5 children per woman in Russia, well below the 2.1 required for population stability! Moscow, by the way, has claimed that nearly one million young Russians have left the country since the beginning of the Ukraine War, making the situation worse.

Meanwhile, the Russian media have reported that the new ministry would encourage the youths to mate and have babies, apart from spending a huge amount of money to boost the population. The Putin Administration has also decided to pay for the hotel room booking for the honeymoon couples on their wedding night! Interestingly, a petition has already been filed against the government’s plan!

It may be noted that the Kremlin has already started providing couples, who have given birth to children, with financial incentives in various parts of Russia. In southeastern city of Khabarovsk, women aged 18 to 23 who taste motherhood receive a financial reward of GBP 900 from the government. The government also offers GBP 8,500, as well as free fertility checks, to female students under 24 for their first child in Chelyabinsk, a city in west-central Russia. This amount may increase in December 2024. Additionally, the Kremlin has restricted access to abortion, increased divorce fees and urged women to prioritise childbirth!

Italy, too, is experiencing a lower birth rate. Hence, the Government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome has started backing a campaign to encourage at least 500,000 births annually by 2033, a rate that demographers insist is necessary to prevent the economy from collapsing. Even some Asian countries, like China, Japan and South Korea, are facing problems related to lower birth rates!

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das