Russia Enforces Restrictive Laws Amid Rapid Population Decline

Russia is confronting a severe demographic crisis marked by a shrinking and aging population, a challenge President Vladimir Putin has addressed throughout his 25 years in power. Despite various incentives like free school meals for large families and state awards for mothers with ten or more children, birth rates have declined sharply since their 2015 peak of nearly 1.94 million, falling to around 1.22 million in 2024 and early 2025, the lowest in over two centuries. Factors such as the war in Ukraine, economic instability, increased emigration of young adults, and opposition to immigration have exacerbated the decline, contributing to deaths outpacing births and a rapidly aging population—30% are now 55 or older compared to 21.1% in 1990. To combat these trends, Russia has implemented restrictive measures emphasizing traditional family values, including laws limiting abortion and banning LGBTQ+ activism, which critics argue may infringe on individual freedoms and fail to address underlying economic issues. Putin has stressed the urgency of boosting birth rates to secure the nation's future, invoking historical family norms to encourage larger families, but demographic experts remain concerned about the long-term effectiveness of these policies amid ongoing geopolitical and economic challenges.