Russia seeks to ban ‘propaganda’ promoting childfree lifestyles

Elvira Aitkulova, one of the authors of the bill, said its aim was to tackle ‘a hybrid war aimed at population reduction’. Photograph: AP

A law that would ban “propaganda” seeking to champion a childfree lifestyle has cleared its first hurdle in Russia’s lower house of parliament, gaining unanimous approval among lawmakers for a bill promoted as a means to increase the country’s birthrate.

The new legislation sets out fines for those deemed to be discouraging people from having children, as official data released last month suggested Russia’s birthrate had slid to its lowest level in a quarter of a century, a slump exacerbated by the country’s ageing population and Moscow’s war in Ukraine.