Russians are being urged to conceive children during breaks at work to help the country’s declining birth rate.
The country recorded its lowest birth rate in 25 years in the first six months of 2024, with the number of infant deliveries falling under 100,000 for the first time in June, Reuters reported.
The combination of declining births and rising deaths during Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine has exacerbated the country’s population crisis. Many are also emigrating due to the war.
The Kremlin in July said it was working to reverse the declining birth rate in the country.
A file photo shows a woman rolling a baby cart in front of the skyscrapers of Moscow’s International Business Centre (Moskva City) in Moscow on September 15, 2023. Russians are being encouraged to procreate at work to combat the nation’s declining brith rate.
Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
The birth rate “is now at a terribly low level—1.4 [births per woman],” Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in July, according to AFP. “This is comparable to European countries, Japan and so on. But this is disastrous for the future of the nation.”
Putin has previously stated the importance of boosting the nation’s birth rate and population, saying that “the preservation of the Russian people is our highest national priority.”
The Kremlin has sought to boost the birth rate by offering tax breaks and cash incentives to families.
Now, Russians are being called on to help reverse the declining birth rate by making babies during their breaks at work.
Health Minister Yevgeny Shestopalov said Russians should “engage in procreation on breaks” during a recent appearance on Russian national television, according to The Mirror.
He told an interviewer that there was no reason why Russians shouldn’t attempt to conceive during the work day.
“Being very busy at work is not a valid reason, but a lame excuse,” he said. “You can engage in procreation during breaks, because life flies by too quickly.”
Asked when people who work 12 to 14-hour days would have time to procreate, Shestopalov replied: “During break times.”
Russia is not the only country seeking to reverse its falling birth rate.
Japan has been grappling with long-standing issues of a shrinking and aging population, and the country’s birth rate fell to a new low for the eighth straight year in 2023. Japan’s parliament earlier this year approved a revision to laws designed to strengthen financial support for child rearing couples or those expecting babies, as well as to expand access to child care services and parental leave benefits.
Meanwhile, North Korea is reportedly punishing doctors who perform abortions and providers of contraceptives with jail time as part of a drive to boost the country’s birth rate.
