Russia's State Duma passed a bill on November 12 in its second and third readings that would ban "childfree propaganda," marking the government's latest move to regulate social discourse while pushing President Vladimir Putin's "family values" agenda.
The bill now awaits approval from the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, before Putin can sign it into law.
The legislation imposes fines for promoting the choice not to have children, with penalties reaching up to 5 million rubles ($51,150) for organizations and 400,000 rubles ($4,090) for individuals.
Russia faces a significant population decline, an issue Putin has frequently highlighted as urgent.
The government has introduced various measures to boost population growth, including financial support for families, restrictions on abortions, and tightened controls on content deemed contrary to family values, such as LGBT-related materials.
Putin has framed these efforts as essential for boosting Russia's birth rate and securing its future. Critics, however, contend that the ban reflects a broader state agenda aimed at ensuring a steady supply of "future soldiers for the Kremlin," suggesting demographic policies are aligned with military needs.
Overall, Russian casualties -- killed or wounded in action -- are believed to exceed 500,000 according to Western estimates, with more men killed over the past 32 months than in an entire decade of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The drive to outlaw the childfree movement has gained traction in recent months, with Russian officials, including Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko, linking the trend to "radical feminism" from the West.
Matviyenko and others argue that promoting voluntary childlessness undermines family values and worsens Russia's demographic challenges.
Meanwhile, a recent study by Russia's Higher School of Economics underscores the complexities of the demographic crisis.
Polls indicate that many Russians are delaying or opting out of having children due to factors like the war in Ukraine, political uncertainty, economic strain, and rising social anxiety.