What's behind Russia's plan to ban 'child-free' ideology?

Daria*, 40, from Yekaterinburg in the Urals is child-free and vocal about it. But it was not always like that. 

"I was in line for IVF and undergoing medical examinations when I realized: I do not have a wish to have a child," she tells DW. "Those thoughts and desires were imposed on me by the society I lived in." 

Daria grew up in a relatively big city and like many Russian women had been expected both by her parents and society around her to have a family and children by the age of 30. 

The decision not to have kids is more than just a private matter. "The right of choice to become a parent or not to become a parent is one of the most fundamental human rights," she says. "Only you can decide, not your parents, not your government."

She says she shared her story to support those who, like her, are struggling. But now she might be punished for it. Russia's parliament, the State Duma, is working on a law that aims to ban so-called child-free ideology which it sees as harmful to traditional values.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, announced recently that fines for "propaganda of childlessness" will amount to up to 400,000 rubles ($4,300; €3,879) for individuals and up to 5 million rubles for companies.

This legislation is based on a 2022 law banning "LGBTQ+ propaganda."

Crackdown on women's rights in Russia 

Daria says the news made her physically sick and she perceives this as yet another step in a systematic crackdown on women's rights in Russia.

The promotion of "traditional values" by the Russian Orthodox Church and conservative circles is not a new development, but especially since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, women in Russia have been put under pressure to give birth. 

The first draft of this new law to ban "child-fee ideology" was discussed in the State Duma in September 2022. The following year, special "family lessons" were introduced in schools. According to officials, their aim is to "form a healthy society" and increse the "popularization of large families." Several parliamentarians have even raised the idea of imposing taxes on childless families.

At the same time, access to emergency contraception and abortion has been limited in Russia. New Health Ministry guidelines instruct medics on how best to dissuade woman from having an abortion, while many private clinics have lost their license to carry out abortions. Ten regions in Russia have imposed fines for "inducing" women to have abortions.

Russia's demographic crisis 

All this comes as Russia is facing a demographic crisis. Official data shows that the birth rate is at its lowest since 1999. Authorities have called it "catastrophic" for Russia's future. 

At the same time mortality is on the rise with hundreds of thousands killed in the ongoing war in Ukraine, while thousands more have fled the country to avoid conscription.

President Vladimir Putin has named improving the birth rate as one of his priorities and declared 2024 a year of family in Russia.

But political and economic instability is putting off Russians from having kids. A study conducted in May 2023 by the HSE University in Moscow found that 30% of respondents who previously wanted to have children have either decided to postpone or not to have kids at all. 

And no amount of restrictions will affect the birth rate, experts say.

"This looks more like hysteria than politics to me," Alexey Raksha, an independent Moscow-based demographer, told DW. "You can forbid everything, it won't matter. Only financial support for families with a second and third child will increase the birth rate." 

However, according to federal budget projections for 2025, the Russian government is planning to cut welfare spending and boost its war machine instead.

Safe spaces will cease to be safe 

For Maria Karnovich-Valua, a women's rights activist living in exile, this law is not about trying to increase the birth rate, but "an attempt to silence voices who speak about reproductive freedoms in the public sphere." She co-hosts a podcast about mental health and difficulties of parenthood and is afraid that this new law could affect her work as well.

Irina Feinmann, a women's rights activist from the city of Petrozavodsk near the border with Finland, is also worried. She hosts a group on the Russian social network VK where women exchange their experiences about pregnancy, birth and motherhood. 

"Many women who decide not to have children don't find support among their relatives and colleagues," she explains. "These groups offer safe space for them, where they won't be judged." But she's concerned that if this law comes into effect, these spaces might not be safe anymore.

In fact, several groups on VK that address child-free ideology have already been blocked after a court in central Russia's Tver region ruled that they "harm the morals of citizens." Now, Feinmann fears she will have to close her group as well. 

*name changed to protect her identity.

Edited by: Rob Mudge