Vladimir Putin
President Vladimir Putin stated Thursday that Russian families must have at least two children for the nation’s ethnic survival, and three or more if it is to develop and thrive.
Russia has suffered significant but unacknowledged losses since beginning its war in Ukraine nearly two years ago, and hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country in protest of the conflict or fear of being called up to fight.
Putin told employees at a tank factory in the Urals that two children per family were the minimum number required for Russians to preserve their identities.
“If we want to survive as an ethnic group – well, or as ethnic groups inhabiting Russia – there must be at least two children”, Putin continued.
Putin went on to say that if each family had just one child, the population would diminish.
“And to expand and develop, you need at least three children”, Putin added.
Putin calls himself a supporter of traditional values such as family, nation, and the Orthodox Christian faith.
During his 24 years in power, the country has severely limited manifestations of sexual orientation and gender identity and the LGBT movement has been labelled as extremist.
Following the demise of the Soviet Union, Russia saw two decades of slow demographic drop, exacerbated by chronic illnesses such as alcoholism.
The state statistics bureau assessed the population at 146.4 million at the start of 2023, down from over 149 million 20 years ago but up from a low of around 143 million between 2007 and 2012.
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