After appealing Russians to have 8 kids, Putin urges citizens to have sex during work break: Report

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged his countrymen to engage in coitusduring work breaks, in an attempt to reverse the country's declining birth rate, according to a report inMetro.

Russia's fertility rateof just 1.5 children per woman, significantly below the 2.1 replacement rate, required to maintain population stability has caused serious concerns. Additionally, more than one million, mainly younger, Russians have left the country ever since Putin's invasion of Ukraine started two years ago.

“The preservation of the Russian people is our highest national priority,” Putin was quoted as saying.

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“The fate of Russia depends on how many of us there will be. It is a question of national importance," he added.

Similar sentiments were echoed byHealth Minister Dr Yevgeny Shestopalov who dismissed work as an excuse for not procreating.

"Being very busy at work is not a valid reason, but a lame excuse. You can engage in procreation during breaks because life flies by too quickly,” saidShestopalov when quizzed about the younger population being overwhelmed by work and not having the energy to have sex.

Previous instance

This is not the first instance when Putin has sounded the alarm regarding Russia's population decline. In December last year, he urged Russian women to give birth to as many as eight children and make it a “norm” to create large families.

"Many of our ethnic groups have preserved the tradition of having strong multigenerational families with four, five, or even more children. Let us remember that Russian families, many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had seven, eight, or even more children," said Putin.

Birth rate crisis

Russia's birth rate has hit its lowest point since 1999 with the number of child births falling below 100,000 in the month of June this year. 599,600 children were born in Russia in the first half of 2024, which is 16,000 fewer than in the same period in 2023, according to statistics published by Rosstat.

Meanwhile, 325,100 deaths were recorded between January and June which suggested an acceleration in the country's natural decline of population.

"This is catastrophic for the future of the nation," Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in July.

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Nina Ostanina, the head of the Committee for the Protection of Families said the citizens must organise themselves to conduct a "special demographic operation".

Notably, in Karelia, a northwest region of the county, authoritiesannounced a childbirth incentivisation policy for its female college students. Regional lawmakers declaredthat females from local universities or colleges, under the age of 25, will be paid 100,000 rubles ($1,100) for giving birth to a healthy baby.

(With inputs from agencies)