NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U.

OF A CORUA

FROM HEROIC MOTHERS TO MATERNAL CAPITAL: A BRIEF

OVERVIEW OF RUSSIAS NATALISM
One child is good, but two are better! reads the

European

caption on a Russian natalist poster. Yet the latter

poor demographic indicators for Russia have

is not from the recent government drive to boost

included high abortion and divorce rates, lowered

that countrys birth rates, but was published in

life expectancy, and modest birth rates since the

1968. Such natalist advertising has actually existed

late 1980s-early 1990s. That said, contemporary

for about a hundred years, and the recent Vladimir

Russian citizens enjoy fewer government-instituted

Putin-initiated campaign continues the tradition of

social benefits in contrast to the Soviet period, but

state involvement in the matters of the family.

the taxation level is also relatively low a flat rate

The question of plunging birth rates in Western

Europe is normally considered only within the
framework of the modern liberal-democratic
welfare state (rather than dealing with the survival
of a certain indigenous ethnic group or groups, per
se). That is to say, the welfare states primary goal is
to continue replenishing its existent population of

countries

standards.

Specifically,

of 13% as of 2001. Only certain types of healthcare

are covered by the state budget, and governmentissued pensions are quite small, to name just a few.
In contrast, the USSRs social programs comprised
numerous benefits, ranging from near-guaranteed
employment and pensions to free postsecondary
education and healthcare.

taxpaying citizens with the next generation thereof,

Yet there is another significant reason why Russias

because their combined wealth allows the state to

demographics have been at the center stage since

maintain many social benefits, such as healthcare,

the second (2004) Putin presidency. That reason

that it offers in exchange for significant taxation

is the specifics of the countrys geography directly

levels. In this sense, who these citizens are matters

linked to geopolitics. Russia is the largest country

less than whether they are paying taxes.

in the world in terms of area, literally spanning

In a number of ways, the contemporary natalist

policies instituted by the Russian government are
also rooted in similar concerns. In fact, the most
recent example thereof was the International
Monetary Funds (IMF) and the World Banks
recommendation that Russia raise its retirement
age to 63 from 55 for women and 60 for men
in order to tighten fiscal policy, in light of pessimistic
demographic predictions, and meet Western

a mari usque ad mare, and in possession of vast

natural resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals. Its
population is unevenly distributed: unsurprisingly,
the highest concentration is found in cities in the
European part of the continent, with vast areas
to the east having a lower population density. In
light of these two factors, Russias resource-filled
lands have been subjected to persistent outside
threat. The Heartland theory (1904), postulated

NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U. OF A CORUA

by English geographer Halford Mackinder, stated

for settlement is being addressed through a number

that he who controls the so-called Heartland (an

of initiatives, such as infrastructural development for

area which corresponds to Russian-ruled Eurasia)

the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

controls the world. Historically, from the 1918

(APEC) conference on Russkii island in the Far

Allied intervention ( Japan, China, U.S., Britain,

East in September of 2012, recent visits to the Kuril

France, and Canada) against the Bolsheviks in

islands by the former president Dmitrii Medvedev,

Siberia and the Nazis concept of Lebensraum to

security and trade integration through SCO

the Cold War, certain principles of the Heartland

(Shanghai Cooperation Organization), and others.

theory have been present in geopolitics for over a

century. Currently, for instance, despite the warm

The History of Russias Natalism

Sino-Russian relations in BRICS (Brazil, Russia,

Prior to discussing contemporary demographic

India, China, and South Africa) and beyond,

solutions and their sustainability, let us have a

some Russian demographers and journalists alike

brief look at the history of Russias natalism. This

claim that Chinas enormous population represents

country, by definition, is a contiguous empire, the

another potential threat, particularly in the

construction of which had been quite unlike the

borderland regions. Many illegal migrants already

European colonial paradigm in the sense that the

live and work on Russian territories in Siberia

Russian expansion since the 16th century had

and the Far East with estimates ranging from

generally been marked by flexible pragmatism

hundreds of thousands to certain sensationalist

(rather than the massive civilizing initiatives of

claims as high as several million.

Western Europeans). As a result, the Russian

Therefore, natural population growth, rather than

the kind induced through immigration, as well as
questions of population density and distribution
have been the subject of concern for the Russian
government in the last decade. The former resulted
in a variety of pro-natalist policies since 2006,
the best known one being maternal capital. The
government is also investigating ways in which
ethnic Russians, left behind in the former Soviet
republics or those living in the West and elsewhere,
can develop greater ties to their homeland,

Empire was a true Vielvolkerreich, a multinational

imperium, as historian Andreas Kappeler refers
to it, into which many different peoples had been
incorporated. This imperium encompassed dozens
of ethnicities; despite the common assumption,
57% of the population was actually non-Russian.
Generally speaking, these ethnic minorities stayed
in the areas of their geographic origin (in part,
facilitated by Russias sheer size), some exceptions
notwithstanding (urban centers and Stalin-era
resettlement, for instance).

including the possibility of repatriation. The issue

In the 19th-century Russian Empire, large families

of making Russia east of the Urals more attractive

were desirable for two reasons. First, much like

NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U. OF A CORUA

elsewhere, having several children ensured that

In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks attempted to adhere

at least some of them survived into adulthood

to classic Marxism, which, in the arena of familial

at a time when many detrimental health-related

relations, meant getting rid of patriarchal gender roles,

factors, such as epidemics, played a prominent

legalizing abortion, and making divorce procedures

role. Second, for much of the Slavic population

simpler, among others. Certain radical figures, such as

(Russians, eastern Ukrainians, et al), procreation

Aleksandra Kollontai, viewed the family institution

occurred within the Orthodox Christian context,

and traditional Christian morality itself as remnants

in which large family size was also preferable.

of the bourgeois past that had to be discarded, with

For them, there was a certain sense of shared

the worker-state gaining a prominent role in raising

responsibility to having children, which was not

children communally. The state did become more

one of the state, but one of faith.

involved, but in the 1930s, the egalitarian measures

In the first decade after the Bolshevik Revolution

(1917), the Soviet government maintained the
policy of official discrimination against the Russians
in order to combat the so-called great Russian
chauvinism (in Marxist ideology, nationalism
distracted the working class from its real struggle
against the bourgeoisie). Yet in the 1930s, the state
began promoting the culture of various nationalities
comprising the USSR, as they were called, Russians
among them, realizing the mobilizing potential of
ethnic and regional nationalism.

from the previous decade were replaced by topdown traditionalism, in which the state acted as
the civilizer, including the reintroduction of ethnic
heroes and Classics in arts and education, in light of
the dramatically increased literacy level; it also made
vast improvements in the area of hygiene, fighting
diseases, and infant mortality. For the family, this
meant a return to somewhat patriarchal family values
(but not in terms of pre-revolutionary property rights
of the patriarchs), sobriety, as well as pro-natalist
propaganda coupled with a ban on abortion, difficultto-obtain divorces, and mockery of irresponsible

When it comes to the question of the family, the

husbands. This change was especially noticeable in

Soviet government exhibited a great degree of

visual culture. Historian David Hoffmann describes

interest in natalism, although its specific treatment

how the late 1920s-early 1930s imagery depicted

changed. Much like the pro-natalist concerns in

women in a rather gender-neutral manner. By contrast,

the modern states of the West in the interwar

by the mid-to-late 1930s, the emphasis on femininity

period, the USSR sought to manage its citizens

re-entered social advertising. Interestingly, despite

on an unprecedented level, ranging from setting an

the traditionalist direction of such propaganda, it

adequate level of education, culture, and taste to

frequently depicted women as the center of the family,

dictating attitudes toward their bodies, including

while men were portrayed as irresponsible and prone

the questions of hygiene and reproduction.

to mistreating wives and children.

NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U. OF A CORUA

(1944), as well as two other lesser medals for

similar achievements, for those women with 10 or
more living children (naturally born or adopted);
the lowest award, the medal of motherhood,
commemorated those with five or more children.

Nursery schools and postpartum care for the worker and the
peasant. 1928. Source: materinstvo.ru.

In

part,

this

state-instituted

traditionalism

was a practical solution to the drop in fertility,

perpetuating a population crisis in the 1930s,
which greatly concerned Soviet demographers. The

Hail the heroic mother! 1944. Source: materinstvo.ru.

crisis was caused by a number of factors, including

the 1932-33 famine and the elimination of female
unemployment, as a result of industrialization and
the collectivization drive in agriculture. With women
entering the workforce in such a radical manner in
a short time period, the government took over the
role of child care, starting as early as nursery schools
(pre-kindergarten) around the tender age of two.
The next decade saw the establishment of the
heroic-mother (literally, mother-heroine) medal

Lets treat orphans with motherly care and love.

1947. Source: materinstvo.ru.

NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U. OF A CORUA

This type of recognition symbolized one of the ways

an effort to enforce motherhood and argue that

in which the state chose to combat the massive loss

Stalinist propaganda reduced the view of women

of life (24-26 million) during the course of WWII.

to that of mothers. Yet, there was another aspect to

After the war, the ratio of men to women was

natalism in this period. Many people in the USSR

rather skewed, which caused additional problems.

shared a particular mindset, a sense of unity that

At this time, pro-natalist propaganda intensified.

was solidified during WWII, and truly believed in

By the mid-1990s, 5.5 million women had been

the importance of collectively contributing to ones

awarded one of the three motherhood medals.

country, surpassing individual whim.

I cant believe I wanted an abortion. 1961. Source: materinstvo.ru.

Pro-natalist social advertising continued

throughout the majority of the Soviet period.
Many examples targeted proper child care, in
which the government played an active role, while
the mother was at work, on the way to raising
the new generation of well educated, cultured,
responsible, and healthy Soviet citizens.
Nursery schools at collective farms take care of children, while their
mothers work. 1955. Source: materinstvo.ru.

Abortion was legalized once again after Stalins

death (1953) as part of the general Khrushchev-

It is important to note that coercive methods

era liberalization. Lower birth rates in the 1970s

(such as collectivization of peasants in the

have, in part, been explained by the rise in the

countryside) have certainly been used to meet

standard of living. Another major demographic

the USSRs economic and social goals. In fact,

drop occurred toward the end of the Soviet period

Western historians like the aforementioned

around the time of perestroika, with deaths

David Hoffmann call the 1930s ban on abortion

exceeding births shortly after the collapse of the

NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U. OF A CORUA

USSR. In the 1990s, in addition to such detrimental

in the world. This factor alone impedes some people

factors as lowered life expectancy, abortion and

from having more than one or two children.

divorce rates had been described as the highest in the

world by the United Nations. Considering the sheer
turmoil of that period, ranging from questionable
privatization of public assets during the so-called
shock therapy years to hyperinflation, causing
the destruction of lifetime savings, the immediate
assumption on the part of the government has been
that the steady improvement of economic conditions
would create an increase in birth rates. In 2006, Putin
made Russian demographics one of the central issues
of his presidency during his address to the nation.

In addition to direct financial aid, other programs

included socio-cultural propaganda, ranging from
billboard advertising and holidays to television shows.
One of such initiatives is the All-Russian Day of
Family, Love, and Faithfulness celebrated on July
8. This is a typical example of a contemporary state
project established in 2008 but with roots going
back to traditional Russian culture, named after SS.
Peter and Fevronia, medieval patron saints of marriage
and love. And while the holiday was instituted by a
secular government, its very focus points to another
player in this matter, the Russian Orthodox Church.

2 800 000
2 600 000

A traditional pillar of society, the Orthodox Church

2 400 000
2 200 000

has experienced a true revival in the last 20 years, and

2 000 000
1 800 000

has also been active in the demographic initiative.

1 600 000
1 400 000
1 200 000

Births

1 000 000

Deaths

In addition to conventional measures such as the

construction of thousands of new places of worship,
2010

2008

2006

2004

2002

2000

1998

1996

1994

1992

1990

1988

1986

1984

1982

1980

1970

1960

800 000

Russian demographics 1960-2010. Source: Sergei Gubanov,

Neoindustrialnyi konsensus Rossii i ego sistemnye osnovy,
Ekonomist #12 (2011).

Since then, the solutions to Russias dire population

predictions have primarily been of economic nature,
such as the maternal-capital program, which became
operational in 2007. The latter involves various types

the Church has also embraced the new media,

such as social networking, to spread its message of
traditionalism. This institution sees the Russian
population decline as part of the same trend affecting
Europe (i.e. other historically Christian nations,
regardless of denomination), naming the ideology of
materialist, individualist Liberalism as the culprit.

of subsidies for women with more than one child,

While traditional values and large families are

naturally born or adopted. This government-aid

also important to Russias indigenous Muslim

package can only be spent on the childs education,

communities, such as those in the Northern

pension investment, or the improvement of ones

Caucasus, these minorities have not been affected

living conditions. Residential real estate in the

by the birth-rate decline of the majority-Russian

largest cities in Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, et

population, since they share stricter patriarchal values

al) remains near the top of the most-expensive list

and, in certain cases, polygamous family structure.

NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U. OF A CORUA

In terms of current demographics, Russians comprise

as compared to the 1990s under Yeltsin. According

more than three quarters of the population, Tartars

to Russias statistical agency, Rosstat, abortion rates

about 4%, with many other ethnicities, including

dropped considerably: from 203 abortions for every

various North Caucasian representatives each

100 live births in 1995 to 74 per 100 in 2009; of

at 1-2%. Thus, it becomes obvious that it is the

course, overall, the rate is still quite high.

ethnic Russians that are the primary targets of the

governments pro-natalist drive. After all, they are
the founding people of the multiethnic imperium
that is the contemporary Russian Federation.

Most recently, the period of June-December 2011

exhibited positive indicators, with 951,249 births
and 943,617 deaths (the difference of 7,632). In
the first four months of 2012, there were 592,220
births as compared to 557,926 for the same time
period in 2011 (this is an increase of 34,294).
Similarly, there were 640,673 deaths as compared
to 658,665 deaths in the first third of 2011 (this is a
decrease of 17,992). If the overall trend continues,
then the annual population decline for 2012 will
be half of that for 2011.

Long-Term Prognosis
Despite such positive news, the sustainability of
these policies remains to be seen. One of the most
significant roadblocks is the time when those born
in the late 1990s the lowest point in the above
graph reach childbearing age and start their
own families. It would be very difficult for them to
compensate for the population loss and to create
The country needs your records. Every minute, there are 3 new
people born in Russia. 2009. Source: taken by author.

a positive demographic trend under current sociocultural conditions.

Results

Indeed, the cultural approach to demographics

The latest data indicate that the years of Putins

mentioned above, whether that of the secular

leadership have had some successes. However, it is

government or of religious institutions, underscores

difficult to attribute them directly to the governments

the importance of changing the fundamental

natalist policies, as a cause-and-effect, rather than the

mindset of the people, which no amount of money

overall stability of the first decade of the 21st century

can buy. After all, the Scandinavian welfare-state

NINA KOUPRIANOVA | RUSSIAS NATALISM | SUMMER SCHOOL (2012), EU DEMOGRAPHICS | U. OF A CORUA

model is often described as an ideal in terms of

lives, as the mother had the opportunity to continue

social benefits and a high standard of living, yet this

working full-time and having more children. It is

region has not been able to avoid the decline of its

this clan-like, close-knit familial structure in the

indigenous population. It seems that this change can

modern context that also promises to be beneficial

only occur through a certain return to traditionalism.

for an upward demographic turn.

For some, the framework of a religious institution

may have a positive effect. For others, it may be of
more secular nature one that subordinates the
individual to the community ones compatriots
for the common good of the nation, as was the
case in postwar USSR.
But traditionalism in this context is often
misunderstood as a caricature of a nuclear family,
in which the woman is tied to the home with
no opportunities in the public sphere, while the
man is the sole breadwinner. Undoubtedly, this is
unattractive to many contemporary women, who
find fulfillment outside the home, including those
wanting to start a family of their own at the same
time. Also, beyond the question of choice, only some
can afford that lifestyle. More realistically, in the
world when two incomes are an economic necessity

In the grand scheme of Russian history, there have

been times when the country lost millions of people
in the course of war, but was able to recover. For a
variety of reasons, the communal survival instinct
kicked in. Whether the same occurs under current
conditions only time will tell.

Selected Sources
History
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life
in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Hoffmann, David. Stalinist Values: The Cultural Norms
of Soviet Modernity, 19171941. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 2003.
Kappeler, Andreas. The Russian Empire: A Multi-Ethnic
History. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2001.

Statistics

for most, it is the extended family that gains

Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS), fms.gov.ru.

prominence. Apart from the states increased role in

Russian Federal Statistical Service (Rosstat), gks.ru.

child rearing in the last hundred years, historically

United Nations statistics, unstats.un.org.

this has been the case in the USSR and now in

Russia. Due to the combination of factors close
living quarters in the urban environment, somewhat
limited geographic mobility (i.e. many people stay
in the same place for generations), and relatively
early retirement age for women, extended family
members, particularly grandmothers, have been

Images
Snopkov, Aleksandr, Pavel Snopkov, and Aleksandr
Shkliaruk. Materinstvo i detstvo v russkom plakate.
Moscow: Kontakt-kultura, 2006.
Posters used here: materinstvo.ru/art/6214/.
Nina Kouprianova, PhD Candidate, U. of Toronto |
@: ninakay@gmail.com.

able to be quite involved in their grandchildrens