Russians should follow biblical teaching as inspiration to reverse declining birth rates in the country, an MP has said. The government has been working to address the issue in recent months after the birth rate fell to the lowest levels in decades last year.
In a Telegram post on Wednesday, State Duma deputy Dmitry Kuznetsov quoted the Bible while reflecting on how to incentivize people to have more children.
“’Be fruitful and multiply’ should become the new philosophy for Russians. In the Bible, it is the very first [spoken] commandment from God, which we, Russians, do not follow and methodically become extinct,” Kuznetsov wrote.
The biblical quote used by the MP is known as the creation, or cultural, mandate. In the Book of Genesis, God tells the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, after placing them in the paradise garden: “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.”
According to Kuznetsov, increasing the average wage to the equivalent of $1,600-$2,200, supporting the construction of one-family dwellings and generous payouts for the birth of a third child could bring about “a radical change for the better.” The average monthly salary in Russia currently stands at around $1,000, according to official statistics.
Kuznetsov, who represents the social conservative party ‘A Just Russia – For Truth’, was responding to comments by a fellow MP. The head of the State Duma Committee for Family Protection, Nina Ostanina, suggested on Wednesday that a large family should become the Russian “philosophy of life.” The position is in line with the guidelines put forward earlier this year by President Vladimir Putin, Ostanina noted.
During an address to the Federal Assembly in February, Putin said that “a large family with many children should become the norm, the philosophy of social life, the guideline of the entire strategy of the state.”
The Russian leadership has introduced a raft of relevant financial and social measures in recent months to support families with children.
According to official statistics, last year the birth rate in Russia plunged to its lowest level since 1999. A recent study conducted by the CMASF macroeconomic analysis center suggested that the trend could translate into a significant decline in population and lead to various problems for the economy.