Russia faces a shrinking and aging population and tries restrictive laws to combat it

Katie Marie Davies, Associated Press
Nov 2, 2025

For a quarter century, President Vladimir Putin has faced the specter of Russia's shrinking and aging population. In 1999, a year before he came to power, the number of babies born in Russia plunged to its lowest recorded level. In 2005, Putin said the demographic woes needed to be resolved by maintaining "social and economic stability.”

In 2019, he said the problem still “haunted” the country. As recently as Thursday, he told a Kremlin demographic conference that increasing births was “crucial” for Russia. Putin has launched initiatives to encourage people to have more children -- from free school meals for large families to awarding Soviet-style “hero-mother” medals to women with 10 or more children.

Continued: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/world/2025/11/02/russia-faces-a-shrinking-and-aging-population-and-tries-restrictive-laws-to-combat-it/stories/202511020020

02.11.2025

Russia faces a shrinking and aging population and tries restrictive laws to combat it

Russia has grappled with a shrinking and aging population for decades, with President Vladimir Putin viewing it as a threat to national security

By KATIE MARIE DAVIES, Associated Press
October 25, 2025

For a quarter century, President Vladimir Putin has faced the specter of Russia's shrinking and aging population.

In 1999, a year before he came to power, the number of babies born in Russia plunged to its lowest recorded level. In 2005, Putin said the demographic woes needed to be resolved by maintaining "social and economic stability.”

In 2019, he said the problem still “haunted” the country.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-faces-shrinking-aging-population-restrictive-laws-combat-126856077

25.10.2025

Russia: What’s behind the anti-abortion push?

Russian lawmakers are looking into banning abortions in private clinics, and new laws are already threatening fines for "incitement" to abortion in some parts of the country. Many fear that a total ban might be coming.

Darko Janjevic
Nov 22, 2023

Women seeking to end their pregnancy in Russia have been facing many new obstacles in recent months — the government is limiting the sale of abortion drugs, the Russian Orthodox Church is pushing to ban abortion in private clinics, and two Russian administrative regions have already imposed fines for "incitement" of pregnant women to abortion.

Church officials are also calling for laws that would make it mandatory for married women to obtain their husband's consent before ending their pregnancy. Separately, Russian senator Margarita Pavlova, herself a graduate of the Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture, recently said it was, "necessary to stop directing girls towards gaining higher education… which then, essentially, leads to nothing."

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/russia-whats-behind-the-anti-abortion-push/a-67512380

22.11.2023