Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law banning the promotion of “childfree propaganda” on Saturday.
The legislation penalizes anyone advocating the refusal to have children. Critics have said that it will not help with Russia’s demographic problems.
The measure targets the spread of childfree ideology through media, films, advertising, and the internet, and aims to prevent the dissemination of materials that encourage the rejection of parenthood.
It imposes fines on those found guilty of promoting the concept. Individuals could face penalties ranging from 50,000 ($480) to 100,000 rubles, while officials could be fined between 100,000 and 200,000 rubles. Legal entities will face steeper costs, with fines of up to five million rubles.
The law also stipulates fines if such propaganda is spread through the media or internet, with penalties for individuals ranging up to 200,000 rubles, for officials up to 400,000 rubles, and for legal entities up to four million rubles. If it is deemed to have affected minors, these fines will be further increased.
In cases where childfree ideology is spread online, website owners will be required to monitor and identify such content, with failure to comply resulting in the website being added to a registry of prohibited information managed by Russia’s media watchdog, Roskomnadzor.
The bill was unanimously approved by both the State Duma and the Federation Council.
The Kremlin has made the demographic challenge a priority, with declining population figures and a low birth rate seen as pressing national issues.
An exception is included in the law for the promotion of monasticism and celibacy. Under the new provisions, the rejection of childbearing for religious or monastic reasons will not be considered an offense.
While it focuses primarily on domestic media and internet platforms, it extends to foreign nationals as well. Foreigners promoting childfree ideas in Russia will face the same fines and could be expelled from the country or placed under administrative arrest for up to 15 days.