Moscow is trying by all means to stop the decline in the birth rate. The Russian Minister of Health has a solution even for those who work very hard.
In the first months of 2024, Russia recorded the lowest birth rate in the last quarter of a century. For the first time, the number of births dropped below 100,000 in June, according to Reuters.
The authorities in Moscow plan to increase the birth rate by offering tax breaks and allowances for families, but they also have a proposal for those who are very busy and work a lot.
Health Minister Evgeny Shustalov said in an interview for Russian television that even those who work very hard must contribute to this effort and should procreate at work, writes Newsweek.
"Being very busy is not a serious reason, but a feeble excuse," he said. "You can engage in procreation during work breaks, because life passes very quickly," Shustalov added.
Asked when people who work 12-14 hours a day would have time to procreate, the minister replied: "During work breaks."
The combination of declining birth rates and increasing deaths, against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, has exacerbated the demographic crisis in Russia. Additionally, many are leaving the country due to the war.
The Kremlin announced in July that it is working on a policy to halt the decline in the birth rate, and President Vladimir Putin said that this situation is "disastrous for the nation's future."
The Russian president has previously spoken about the importance of increasing birth rates and population, stating that "preserving the Russian people is the highest national priority."
In November 2023, Putin called on women in Russia "to return to their roots," as "grandmothers and great-grandmothers had seven, eight, or even more children." "Let us preserve and revive these excellent traditions. Large families must become the norm, a way of life for the entire Russian people," Putin said, at the World Russian People's Council in Moscow.
"Maintaining and increasing the population of Russia is our goal for the coming decades and even future generations. This is the future of the ancient Russian world, of eternal Russia," added the Kremlin leader.
T.D.