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06.11.2025
Effective Demographic Policy in an Aging Society Why Birth Rates Are Falling and what Can be Done to Combat it
Effective Demographic Policy in an Aging Society
Why Birth Rates Are Falling and what Can be Done to Combat it
Preamble: Birth rates in Russia are falling despite major efforts to support families with children. This has to do not only with finances, but also with the public perception of parenthood, fertility issues, and parenting difficulties, as well as with the fact that women are not guaranteed any support from their ex-husbands after divorce. Many women resent the pressure and the idea that their role is reduced to bearing and raising children and are, therefore, reluctant to go down that route. It is important to transform public perceptions and promote motherhood in a more subtle way, encouraging people to opt for a family freely, without outside pressure.
According to a number of statements made by the President of the Russian Federation, for example, during a call-in session in late 2024, increasing the birth rate is currently one of the key policy priorities in Russia. The amount of effort and resources invested by the government in its demographic policy is quite impressive. They include mortgage benefits for families with children, higher education allowances and benefits for student mothers and fathers, monthly maternity allowances for mothers payable from the first months of pregnancy, and a one-time maternity payment adjusted for inflation. Therefore, we can conclude that financial support for families with children is indeed substantial, which means that money, or lack thereof, is not a factor in the negative demographic trends.
Perhaps the problem is difficulty conceiving and raising children? Or perhaps overcrowded schools and kindergartens? Is it possible that many women today are simply unable to conceive or carry pregnancy to term? This may be part of the problem, but the government is currently working hard to come up with a solution. One planned remedy is to open kindergartens attached to higher education institutions, a measure that is expected to be implemented in the near future. In addition, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergey Kravtsov has made public plans to build 150 additional schools in 2025. Health problems, too, have nothing to do with the situation: the Ministry of Health is making numerous statements on growing availability of IVF for women with infertility or health problems.
In this case, maybe the problem is that people just do not want to have children? Nothing of the sort! According to a Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) poll of 1600 Russians, as of February 25 this year, over one half of the respondents would like to have three or more children. So, what is the cause of the declining birth rate in Russia if it is not a lack of money or a lack of desire to have children?
Perhaps it is propaganda promoting the rejection of parenthood? Maybe it is just not “fashionable” to have children in today’s society, and the popularity of the childfree movement is why people refuse to become parents? But no, the ideology of refusing to have children is so unfashionable that it was banned by Federal Law on November 23, 2024, and promoting such values is punishable by hefty fines.
Quite the opposite, it is difficult no ignore the media propaganda pushing the idea of large families, albeit very clumsy and crude. Take the statement by Evgeny Shestopalov, Minister of Health of Primorsky Krai: “Being very busy at work cannot be considered an excuse not to have children: you can also engage in procreation during your time off,” or the words of the Kurgan Oblast Duma Deputy Aleksandr Iltyakov, who called Russian women who have an abortion “manikins” and urged women to have children “for as long as the necessary parts work.”
I believe that it is precisely the overly crude and intrusive childbearing propaganda that leads to negative demographic trends. After all, who would like to be told incessantly on TV or on their telephone screens is their most important “function,” and that the desire to receive an education, have a career and build a financial safety net is a “misguided practice” that reduces the time available for having a third or fourth child, as Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko has done?
Formulating the problem in this manner makes women feel like they are seen as nothing more than incubators unfit for anything except bearing and raising children. Some might say that even this is no mean feat, but the times when women did not have the right to an education, and children were the only thing they could devote themselves to, with the exception of housework, are long gone. The names of Marie Curie, Anna Akhmatova, Frida Kahlo and many others are known the world over, proving that women are capable of scientific discovery and creating masterpieces on par with men. As such, it is truly unjust to bring men to the forefront and reduce the function of women to childbirth and childrearing, essentially robbing them of the opportunity to express themselves in other ways.
Additionally, I find it interesting that all the propaganda for demographic improvement is aimed primarily at women, as if men do not participate in the life of children. Take the issue of child support, for example, which, according to statistics, should go to nourish 3.2 million children across Russia. Yet payments are only made for 1.1 million (one third) of those. The fact that there are no guarantees men will pay child support is undoubtedly an important reason behind the reluctance of some women to have children. Future mothers must be certain that they will not be left to raise children alone and they will not have to recover funds from those who are actually supposed to bear equal responsibility for parenting and education. It is difficult to fault women for this.
Therefore, one of the most important government objectives is to reduce the number of fathers who leave their families, and increase the number of those who pay child support, as well as to increase payments to a level sufficient to support a small child’s needs.
I would also like to add another cause that is, in my opinion, possibly associated with the decline in birth rate. The thing is that thousands of years ago the function of man was to provide food for the family. Men had to hunt day and night, facing numerous responsibilities, to bring home a mammoth while their wives stayed home as guardians of the family hearth, that is, they protected the cave from predators, took care of children, cooked and made the home a comfortable place to be. In those times, these tasks were equally valuable, because hunting was a dangerous and risky undertaking, and childrearing required huge efforts. However, with time, the functions of both sexes changed.
Men no longer had to risk lives life or toil a huge field, spending all their energy on this. Of course, there are still men who earn a living doing exclusively physical work, but they are a minority, whereas the rest do office or creative work. Meanwhile, the functions of women have changed little.
Yes, we now have washing machines, vacuum cleaners and the internet with food recipes to suit every taste. However, food still needs to be cooked, vacuums cannot clean the whole house, and the washing machine must be monitored, correctly loaded and started, so all the clothes do not turn, say, bright pink. And we are not even talking about raising children, a task that has not become any easier, unless, of course, you have a nanny.
So, the modern man, who comes home from work where he, not to mince words, has hardly physically overexerted himself, sits at a computer and asks his wife or girlfriend what is for dinner, even though she too has just come back from her no less demanding job. So, while he is watching TV, she must cook a fresh tasty meal for the whole family, help their children with the homework, and iron his shirts because he is too tired to do it himself.
This is what household chores of most women in today’s Russia look like. This is commonly called the second shift, i.e. another job, only unpaid.
I believe that this situation is one of the causes of negative demographic trends. Indeed, why have a child if you are already tired half to death with one adult child who cannot even make his own dinner. So, government efforts and resources must be used not to convince women of the joy of motherhood, but to remind men that they made the decision to start a family and have children together, so they must share the responsibility for their upbringing.
We constantly hear these days that the man is a protector and a provider, but if a guy is not even ready to pay for his girlfriend’s coffee or give her flowers for her birthday, he is not ready to start a family and have children. It is difficult to go through pregnancy and raise a child alone, but even more difficult to do it with a partner who is not ready to really invest effort, time and money in his family.
So, I believe that we need to promote the idea that men must contribute to their family, that they must be more involved in parenting. And the idea that boys are future fathers and husbands first, and inventors, scientists and workers second must be instilled in them at school. To this end, the media should create a model of the participation of fathers in family life: ads should more often feature men with strollers; men saving the whole family from flu with a miracle drug; men who are ready to spend their free time on household chores, rather than on rest and hobbies; men who help their wives; and men who parent their children.
Otherwise, the next generation will consist of self-sufficient women who seen no need for marriage and raise children on their own (leading to ever declining birth rates, since it is more difficult to raise a child alone than with a partner) and coddled sons who are smothered in the love of their mothers because their father was not there to take part in their upbringing and who are not ready to take any responsibility. The choice is yours to make.
Why Birth Rates Are Falling and what Can be Done to Combat it
Preamble: Birth rates in Russia are falling despite major efforts to support families with children. This has to do not only with finances, but also with the public perception of parenthood, fertility issues, and parenting difficulties, as well as with the fact that women are not guaranteed any support from their ex-husbands after divorce. Many women resent the pressure and the idea that their role is reduced to bearing and raising children and are, therefore, reluctant to go down that route. It is important to transform public perceptions and promote motherhood in a more subtle way, encouraging people to opt for a family freely, without outside pressure.
According to a number of statements made by the President of the Russian Federation, for example, during a call-in session in late 2024, increasing the birth rate is currently one of the key policy priorities in Russia. The amount of effort and resources invested by the government in its demographic policy is quite impressive. They include mortgage benefits for families with children, higher education allowances and benefits for student mothers and fathers, monthly maternity allowances for mothers payable from the first months of pregnancy, and a one-time maternity payment adjusted for inflation. Therefore, we can conclude that financial support for families with children is indeed substantial, which means that money, or lack thereof, is not a factor in the negative demographic trends.
Perhaps the problem is difficulty conceiving and raising children? Or perhaps overcrowded schools and kindergartens? Is it possible that many women today are simply unable to conceive or carry pregnancy to term? This may be part of the problem, but the government is currently working hard to come up with a solution. One planned remedy is to open kindergartens attached to higher education institutions, a measure that is expected to be implemented in the near future. In addition, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergey Kravtsov has made public plans to build 150 additional schools in 2025. Health problems, too, have nothing to do with the situation: the Ministry of Health is making numerous statements on growing availability of IVF for women with infertility or health problems.
In this case, maybe the problem is that people just do not want to have children? Nothing of the sort! According to a Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) poll of 1600 Russians, as of February 25 this year, over one half of the respondents would like to have three or more children. So, what is the cause of the declining birth rate in Russia if it is not a lack of money or a lack of desire to have children?
Perhaps it is propaganda promoting the rejection of parenthood? Maybe it is just not “fashionable” to have children in today’s society, and the popularity of the childfree movement is why people refuse to become parents? But no, the ideology of refusing to have children is so unfashionable that it was banned by Federal Law on November 23, 2024, and promoting such values is punishable by hefty fines.
Quite the opposite, it is difficult no ignore the media propaganda pushing the idea of large families, albeit very clumsy and crude. Take the statement by Evgeny Shestopalov, Minister of Health of Primorsky Krai: “Being very busy at work cannot be considered an excuse not to have children: you can also engage in procreation during your time off,” or the words of the Kurgan Oblast Duma Deputy Aleksandr Iltyakov, who called Russian women who have an abortion “manikins” and urged women to have children “for as long as the necessary parts work.”
I believe that it is precisely the overly crude and intrusive childbearing propaganda that leads to negative demographic trends. After all, who would like to be told incessantly on TV or on their telephone screens is their most important “function,” and that the desire to receive an education, have a career and build a financial safety net is a “misguided practice” that reduces the time available for having a third or fourth child, as Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko has done?
Formulating the problem in this manner makes women feel like they are seen as nothing more than incubators unfit for anything except bearing and raising children. Some might say that even this is no mean feat, but the times when women did not have the right to an education, and children were the only thing they could devote themselves to, with the exception of housework, are long gone. The names of Marie Curie, Anna Akhmatova, Frida Kahlo and many others are known the world over, proving that women are capable of scientific discovery and creating masterpieces on par with men. As such, it is truly unjust to bring men to the forefront and reduce the function of women to childbirth and childrearing, essentially robbing them of the opportunity to express themselves in other ways.
Additionally, I find it interesting that all the propaganda for demographic improvement is aimed primarily at women, as if men do not participate in the life of children. Take the issue of child support, for example, which, according to statistics, should go to nourish 3.2 million children across Russia. Yet payments are only made for 1.1 million (one third) of those. The fact that there are no guarantees men will pay child support is undoubtedly an important reason behind the reluctance of some women to have children. Future mothers must be certain that they will not be left to raise children alone and they will not have to recover funds from those who are actually supposed to bear equal responsibility for parenting and education. It is difficult to fault women for this.
Therefore, one of the most important government objectives is to reduce the number of fathers who leave their families, and increase the number of those who pay child support, as well as to increase payments to a level sufficient to support a small child’s needs.
I would also like to add another cause that is, in my opinion, possibly associated with the decline in birth rate. The thing is that thousands of years ago the function of man was to provide food for the family. Men had to hunt day and night, facing numerous responsibilities, to bring home a mammoth while their wives stayed home as guardians of the family hearth, that is, they protected the cave from predators, took care of children, cooked and made the home a comfortable place to be. In those times, these tasks were equally valuable, because hunting was a dangerous and risky undertaking, and childrearing required huge efforts. However, with time, the functions of both sexes changed.
Men no longer had to risk lives life or toil a huge field, spending all their energy on this. Of course, there are still men who earn a living doing exclusively physical work, but they are a minority, whereas the rest do office or creative work. Meanwhile, the functions of women have changed little.
Yes, we now have washing machines, vacuum cleaners and the internet with food recipes to suit every taste. However, food still needs to be cooked, vacuums cannot clean the whole house, and the washing machine must be monitored, correctly loaded and started, so all the clothes do not turn, say, bright pink. And we are not even talking about raising children, a task that has not become any easier, unless, of course, you have a nanny.
So, the modern man, who comes home from work where he, not to mince words, has hardly physically overexerted himself, sits at a computer and asks his wife or girlfriend what is for dinner, even though she too has just come back from her no less demanding job. So, while he is watching TV, she must cook a fresh tasty meal for the whole family, help their children with the homework, and iron his shirts because he is too tired to do it himself.
This is what household chores of most women in today’s Russia look like. This is commonly called the second shift, i.e. another job, only unpaid.
I believe that this situation is one of the causes of negative demographic trends. Indeed, why have a child if you are already tired half to death with one adult child who cannot even make his own dinner. So, government efforts and resources must be used not to convince women of the joy of motherhood, but to remind men that they made the decision to start a family and have children together, so they must share the responsibility for their upbringing.
We constantly hear these days that the man is a protector and a provider, but if a guy is not even ready to pay for his girlfriend’s coffee or give her flowers for her birthday, he is not ready to start a family and have children. It is difficult to go through pregnancy and raise a child alone, but even more difficult to do it with a partner who is not ready to really invest effort, time and money in his family.
So, I believe that we need to promote the idea that men must contribute to their family, that they must be more involved in parenting. And the idea that boys are future fathers and husbands first, and inventors, scientists and workers second must be instilled in them at school. To this end, the media should create a model of the participation of fathers in family life: ads should more often feature men with strollers; men saving the whole family from flu with a miracle drug; men who are ready to spend their free time on household chores, rather than on rest and hobbies; men who help their wives; and men who parent their children.
Otherwise, the next generation will consist of self-sufficient women who seen no need for marriage and raise children on their own (leading to ever declining birth rates, since it is more difficult to raise a child alone than with a partner) and coddled sons who are smothered in the love of their mothers because their father was not there to take part in their upbringing and who are not ready to take any responsibility. The choice is yours to make.
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