Russia is considering a law to fine people who choose not to have children

Don’t even think about not having children. If you are Russian.

The Russian parliament is considering legislation to outlaw “a conscientious refusal to have children”.

The draft law of the Lower House of the State Duma proposes fines of 400,000 rubles [$4,354 USD] for anyone engaging in “child-free propaganda,” rising to $8,639 if the person discussing the concept is an official, or $53,906 for a company.

And only those with approved religious beliefs (the Russian Orthodox Church has monks and nuns), serious health problems or who have been raped will be allowed to “refuse to give birth to a child”.

But individuals who even casually defend a personal choice not to have children on social media will run afoul of the new laws.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin insists the proposed legislation has more to do with “traditional family values” than Russia’s declining birthrate and mass deaths among its young troops fighting in the invasion of Ukraine.

“Groups and communities on social networks often show disrespect for motherhood and fatherhood, and aggression towards pregnant women and children, as well as members of large families,” said Volodin.

“A friendly and big family is the basis of a strong state”.

The legislation targets posts on social media, the internet, traditional media, films, books and advertising.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he supported the move, saying Russia’s “catastrophic” fertility rate was an urgent matter.

“Increasing the birth rate is one of the main priorities for the entire government and the entire country,” he said.

Lie down and think about Putin

Earlier this month, President Putin instructed his government to promote conditions that make “having many children fashionable again, as it used to be, with seven or 10 people in a family.”

Last week, officials announced that a new key workplace performance indicator (KPI) would be whether or not female employees were pregnant.

To this end, employers were encouraged to offer regular “spousal leave” during working hours.

The Kremlin insists there is a large-scale organized “child-free” movement undermining the nation’s future. She points to a handful of social media chat rooms (some of which have more than 5,000 followers) as evidence of the conspiracy.

“These [moves] have previously been taken against LGBTQ+ propaganda and gender reassignment,” Volodin said in his speech in the Duma.

The new legislation, introduced in the Russian parliament on Wednesday, is based on a 2022 law that banned “LGBT propaganda”. Its implementation effectively criminalized any public expression or presentation of a gay or trans identity.

Such harshness is also likely to apply to anyone who displays, encourages or advocates childlessness.

“Everything must be done to increase the birth rate. And everything that prevents this must disappear from our lives,” said Putin’s spokesman.

This, however, does not include an end to the occupation that is believed to have killed or wounded more than 500,000 Russian soldiers. Some estimates put this at about 2 percent of the total Russian male population aged 20-50.

“Protection of values”

“Let’s ban the childless movement by law because this is a foreign project; it is a hostile project,” said the head of the Federation Council, Russia’s upper house, during a debate on the new legislation.

“They are instilling in women’s brains, using the most modern technologies, that they should give up motherhood,” added Valentina Matviyenko.

It is just one statement amid a growing campaign to describe Western rights and gender equality movements as “enemies of freedom”.

“I call this ideology the ideology of death, the destruction of the family,” Russian Human Rights Council chairman Valery Fadeev said last year.

Russia last year banned sex-change surgery. It also ended the ability to change gender on official documentation.

Now, the Duma is considering a new bill to outlaw abortions in private clinics. Only state-controlled clinics will be allowed to perform the procedure if the pregnancy is considered to be a serious threat to the mother’s life, or the result of incest or rape.

And these will only be allowed up to nine weeks after conception instead of the current 12.

Some Russian provinces have already begun to pass similar laws.

New demographic figures have shown that Russia’s birthrate has fallen to its lowest level since the end of the Soviet Union.

Last year, its population actually decreased. About 1.3 million people died. Only 1.26 million children were born to replace them.

Immigration has also fallen from 8.5 million to 6 million, as Putin’s authoritarian regime, the economy and recruitment for his invasion of Ukraine make Russia a less attractive destination.

This is unlikely to change.

This week, the Russian parliament also moved to protect the “honor” of government officials.

Any public or online criticism that “concerns the honor or dignity of the government employee in terms of his personal or professional qualities” is punishable by up to two years in prison.