In some regions of Russia, pregnant schoolgirls receive significant financial payments for the birth and upbringing of children as part of the Russian Federation’s demographic strategy.
The Kremlin is offering Russian women financial incentives to have more children. The initiative, rolled out in ten regions, is an expansion of a demographic policy previously limited to adult women. It is designed to reverse a catastrophic decline in the birth rate: in 2023, Russia’s fertility rate was 1.41, well below the 2.05 needed to maintain the population.
This was reported by The Conversation.
Russian context and global trends
Payments to teenage girls for having children while they are still in school are controversial in Russia: 43% of Russians approve of the policy, while 40% oppose it. However, it highlights the high priority the state places on increasing the birth rate.
According to Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, a large population is one of the signs of a “prosperous great state” along with control over a vast territory and a powerful army.
The publication notes that Putin's aggressive plans to expand Russia's territory by occupying Ukraine have led to a reduction in the Russian population: according to some estimates, the number of Russian soldiers killed has reached 250,000. In addition, hundreds of thousands of Russians have left Russia en masse because of the war, most of whom are young, educated men who could have become the parents of a new generation.
Despite the extreme demographic situation in Russia, declining birth rates are a global trend. By 2050, more than three-quarters of the world's countries are estimated to have birth rates so low that they will not be able to maintain their populations.
Putin is not the only world leader to introduce pro-natal policies. In Hungary, Viktor Orban is offering tax breaks and subsidized mortgages to those who have three or more children. Poland is paying 500 zlotys per month per child to families with two or more children, although there is evidence that this does not encourage fertility among high-income women. In the US, Donald Trump is proposing to pay women $5,000 for having a child.
At the same time, Spain's policy to resolve the demographic crisis consists of simplifying the procedures for obtaining citizenship for migrants, including those who arrived illegally, linked to the current economic growth.
The ideological dimension of pronatalism and its consequences
Reversing demographic trends is complex because the decision to become a parent is influenced by many factors, including personal aspirations, financial means, and values. So the impact of “pronatalist” policies is mixed, and no country has found an easy way to reverse its fertility decline.
Governments adopting pronatalist policies are often interested not only in increasing the overall population, but also in encouraging births among “desirable” groups of citizens that have an ideological dimension. Incentives are often directed at those whom the state considers to be the most valuable citizens, for example, based on their race, ethnicity, language, religion, or sexual orientation.
Hungary, for example, only gives incentives to heterosexual couples with high incomes. The emphasis on increasing the share of “desirable” citizens explains why some administrations see no contradiction in calling for higher birth rates while deporting migrants or trying to abolish constitutional guarantees of citizenship.
The authors of the article point out that the success or failure of pronatalist policies depends on the ability of governments to persuade people, especially women, to accept parenthood. Along with financial incentives, some states offer respect and recognition to mothers of large families.
An example is Putin's restoration of Stalin's “mother's medal” for women with ten or more children. At the same time, this is accompanied by implicit or explicit criticism of women who delay or refuse to have children.
Last year, the Russian parliament passed a law banning the promotion of childlessness and also introduced restrictions on abortions in private clinics.
The world's wealthy nations, if pronatalist policies were solely about labor, would be more likely to attract immigrants. These efforts often involve limiting the choices of citizens—especially women—and shaping the population to have characteristics the government desires.
Let us recall that the demographer believes that Ukraine should not invite migrants. According to the scientist, not only will they not help improve the country's demographics, but they will also lead to the death of the crisis.
