Paris, 14 November 2024. Russia continues its ultra-conservative shift. Two days ago the Duma unanimously passed a bill banning the dissemination of neutral or positive information about being childfree on the Internet, in the media, films, and advertisements.
This law still needs to be approved by the upper house before being sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. It includes significant financial penalties, which can reach up to 400,000 rubles for individuals (around $4,200) and 5 million rubles for companies (nearly $50,000). There is also the risk of administrative arrest and deportation for non-Russian citizens.
This law is part of the ongoing ultra-conservative turn that Russia has taken in recent years. The regime emphasizes the family and exalts motherhood as a fundamental cornerstone of national policy. In 2020, Russian authorities made significant revisions to the Constitution, notably adding Article 67, which states that "children are the most important priority of Russian state policy." Similarly, in November 2022, President Putin signed a decree titled "Foundations of State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values." The decree asserts, among other things, that the country’s demographic situation is threatened by the "destructive ideological influence" exerted on Russian citizens, propagated by "the United States of America and other unfriendly foreign states, as well as a number of foreign non-governmental organisations."
"However, it is indeed the war, mobilisation and emigration that have led to the demographic crisis in the country, not supposed external influences", explains Natalia Morozova, acting director of the FIDH’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia department. "Now, Putin’s regime is lacking soldiers for its war in Ukraine, ’cannon fodder,’ which is why the State Duma is continuously passing fascist laws at an unprecedented pace. Obviously, this will have no effect on birth rates."
2024, year of the family
The year 2024 has been declared in Russia as the "Year of the Family." This presents an opportunity to adopt measures aimed at "strengthening marriage and traditional values." Divorce fees have been increased eightfold, laws have been passed prohibiting "incitement to abortion" and in a new development for a country that was once a pioneer in abortion rights during the Soviet era, private clinics in certain regions are now refusing to perform voluntary abortions.
The newly passed law bans the dissemination of information about the "childfree" movement (a term used for people who consciously choose not to have children, whether for personal, economic, or environmental reasons). According to Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council, the upper house of Parliament, "this movement does not align with the current expectations of women" and "must be legally prohibited."
Once the law comes into effect, Russian citizens will no longer be allowed to say or write anything that promotes a "positive image of childlessness and the conscious choice not to have children, unless this choice is related to medical contraindications."
This legislation intensifies the pressure already exerted by the Russian state on women’s bodies, making access to abortion increasingly difficult. It is part of a broader trend, influenced by the rise of conservative currents, which is based on an archaic and nationalist vision of orthodoxy. The stated goal is to defend "traditional values", fight against a West deemed "decadent" and most importantly, control women’s bodies.
It adds to a series of repressive laws aimed at restricting freedom of expression, reinforcing an environment of censorship where any opposition to the state’s pronatalist directives is gradually being criminalised, similar to the law passed on 24 November 2022, which completely bans "LGBT propaganda" and expands the 2013 ban on the dissemination of information to minors.
FIDH is monitoring and expressing concern over this new attack on women’s rights, which is part of a global trend of regression and the rise of reactionary ideologies. It calls for heightened, constant, and solidarity-based vigilance.