It seems that Russia is sparing no effort to combat the country’s declining birth rate.

With ideas ranging from encouraging sex in the workplace to offering financial incentives for first dates, Russia is stepping up efforts to reverse its population slide.

In a recent report from a Russian publication Moskvitch Magazineauthorities are reportedly considering an even more bizarre proposal: creating a dedicated “sex ministry” to combat the country’s rapidly declining birth rate.

What is it about? Here’s what we know.

Weird ideas

According to The mirrorRussian officials are implementing various proposals aimed at increasing the country’s population.

One suggestion is to encourage citizens to turn off the internet and lights in their homes between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., creating a “distraction-free” window to promote intimacy between couples.

In another proposal, couples would receive up to 5,000 rubles (Rs 4,302) from the government for their first dates.

And the ideas continue.

One recommendation suggests that newlywed couples should have their wedding nights publicly funded, with hotel costs capped at 26,300 rubles (Rs 22,632) to aid the likelihood of pregnancy.

Other proposals are even more creative, such as compensating stay-at-home mothers for household chores and counting this work towards their pension.

Alongside these national strategies, certain regions are also mobilizing. In Khabarovsk, young women between 18 and 23 are offered £900 (Rs 98,029) to encourage them to have a child. Meanwhile, in Chelyabinsk, the reward for a first-born child is significantly higher, at £8,500 (Rs 9.26 lakh).

Previously, the regional Minister of Health, Dr. Yevgeny Shestopalov, asked Russians to introduce the
“sex in the workplace” project in their lives that suggested creating babies during lunch and coffee breaks.

“You can engage in childbearing during breaks, because life passes too quickly,” Shestopalov said, as quoted by The mirror.

“Special demographic operation”

Nina Ostanina, 68, a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin and chair of the Russian Parliament’s Family Protection Committee, is currently considering a petition calling for the creation of a “Sex Ministry.”

According to Moskvitch MagazineThis petition was filed by the GlavPR agency, proposing that such a ministry take charge of efforts to increase the country’s birth rate.

Earlier, Ostanina told the official RIA news agency that Russia needed a “special demographic operation” to increase its birth rate. “

“We need to organize ourselves and carry out another special operation,” Ostanina said. “Just like a special military operation, a special demographic operation.”

While Moscow describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation”.

And these efforts don’t stop there.

Russian authorities have even started questioning women about their sex lives and menstrual cycles.

In Moscow, female public sector employees were given detailed questionnaires about their sexual and reproductive health, family intentions, etc., suggesting a large-scale data collection campaign across the country.

The questions are very personal: they ask women when they became sexually active, whether they use contraceptives, whether they have any experiences with infertility or previous pregnancies, and whether they plan to have children within the next year. come.

Those who do not respond to the questionnaire are required to attend a doctor’s appointment where they must answer the same questions in person.

At public cultural institutions, employees would have been frustrated at having to submit this personal information to HR. Some submitted blank questionnaires, only to be asked to add their name. Those who resisted were summoned to interviews with state doctors to provide answers in person.

Previously, the Russian parliament was working on a new law that would impose a fine of several thousand dollars on people promoting a “child-free” lifestyle. The bill aims to target media and online content that encourages not reporting children. Business internal.

Separately, Moscow has launched a free fertility testing program for women. So far, it has attracted 20,000 participants.

“The first results based on the (initial) batch of 20,000 suggest that, unfortunately, quite a large number of women of different ages are now having to abandon everything that is important to them and devote themselves to the main goal, the main goal of every woman, to (get pregnant and) become a mother,” said Anastasia Rakova, deputy mayor of Moscow. The Mirror.

The lowest birth rate in 25 years

The birth rate in Russia has reached its lowest level in a quarter of a century. Reuters reports.

Data from Rosstat, the national statistics agency, revealed that 599,600 children were born in Russia in the first half of 2024, 16,000 fewer than the same period last year and the lowest since 1999.

In June, the number of births fell 6 percent to 98,600, marking the first time the monthly figure fell below 100,000, according to Russian media.

“This is catastrophic for the future of the nation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in July, as reported by Russian state news agencies.

This demographic slowdown is occurring against the backdrop of a protracted war with Ukraine, now in its third year and which has led to
significant losses.

“As the war continues into its third year and now has a direct impact on Russian territory, money is not the only factor. “With the uncertain security situation in border regions, families are delaying the decision to have children,” Alex Kokcharov, country risk analyst for Eurasia, told Euronews.

With the contribution of agencies