Facing Record-Low Birth Rates, Putin Says Teen Marriage Is the Answer

Russian leader Vladimir Putin urged Russians to follow what he described as “Caucasus traditions” of early marriage in an effort to boost the country’s collapsing birth rate, speaking during his annual televised “Direct Line” call-in show, The Moscow Times reported on December 21.

Putin pointed to families in Russia’s North Caucasus, saying marriages there often take place at a young age and should serve as an example. He cited Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his large family, arguing that Russians should prioritize starting families earlier rather than delaying childbirth for education, career, or financial stability.

The comments came as Russia’s demographic crisis deepens. The country’s total fertility rate has fallen to about 1.4 children per woman, far below the replacement level of 2.1.

Putin described the trend as a general problem among developed economies, noting even lower rates in Japan and South Korea, but framed having children as a moral and even spiritual duty rather than an economic decision.

Russia recorded just over 1.22 million births last year, the lowest figure since 1999 and roughly one-third fewer than in 2014. Natural population decline over the past decade has reached about 4 million people.

Births dropped a further 4% in the first quarter of this year, hitting what officials described as a two-century low. In response, Russia’s statistics agency has restricted access to detailed demographic data, The Moscow Times wrote.

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Putin has repeatedly missed self-imposed targets to reverse population decline, first setting a deadline of 2024 and later pushing it to 2030. Under current national development plans, the government aims to raise the fertility rate to 1.6 by 2030 and 1.8 by 2036.

To reach those goals, authorities are promoting what they call a “family-centered” strategy, including campaigns highlighting large families, embedding “traditional values” in media and advertising, and introducing state awards for grandparents with many grandchildren, The Moscow Times reported.

Russia also previously began enforcing new restrictions on entertainment content it believes promotes a voluntary child-free lifestyle, the Russian government’s Parliamentary Gazette reported.

Under the new guidelines, the media regulator Roskomnadzor instructed cinemas and streaming platforms to block or delete works that “encourage,” “justify,” or present advantages of refusing to have children, or that portray raising a family and remaining child-free as socially equivalent choices.

Previously, Putin said his “hands itch” to continue the war against Ukraine while also claiming Moscow wants to end the war through talks on its terms.

The Moscow Times reported that Putin made the remarks on the televised “Direct Line” call-in show, after describing what he said Ukrainian forces had done to civilians.

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