Putin encourages amorous ‘lunch breaks’ for couples to deal with Russia’s declining population

Plummeting birthrates have been a problem across the developing world. It was already an issue in Russia before the start of the war, and things haven’t exactly improved since then.

The New York Post writes that the Kremlin has been encouraging couples to use their lunch breaks to get together and bolster Russia’s declining population.

Photo: Sergey Tarasov/Unsplash

The “sex-at-work” initiative is part of a broader national strategy trying to raise Russia’s birthrate, which The York Post claims that it currently stands at 1.5 children per woman, lower than the necessary 2.1 children needed to sustain the population.

The birthrate problem has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022 and The New York Post claims that it has led to over one million younger Russians to flee the country to avoid fighting.

Newsweek highlights that Russia’s birthrate hit its lowest level in 25 years in the first months of 2024, despite being one of the biggest countries in the world by size.

The plummeting birthrates has been described as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main concerns and top priorities.

Newsweek describes that in February 2024 Putin argued that Russia’s “ethnic survival” depended on families having two or three children.

More recently, Putin spoke in September at the Fourth Eurasian Women’s Forum where, according to Newsweek, where Putin praised how women capable of combining motherhood and work while also remaining beautiful and charming.

“The fate of Russia … depends on how many of us there will be. It is a question of national importance,” Putin stated, as quoted by The New York Post.

According to The New York Post, Russia is hardly the only country taking measures to try to boost births among its population. Singapore has tried to get couples in the mood with quirky rap songs.

Meanwhile, Italy decreed in 2016 a national fertility day which, as NPR writes, was criticized by women as being sexist and offensive.

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