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Will Russia Recover From Its Massive Underpopulation Problems? (Putin sez: HAVE 3!)
LifeNews.com ^ | 12/18/12 | Steven W. Mosher and Elizabeth Crnkovich

Posted on 12/19/2012 3:22:03 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o

What do you do when your country is dying, one coffin at a time? Well, if you are Russian President Vladimir Putin, you call upon Russian couples to be fruitful and multiply, and have at least three children.

It is hard to exaggerate the demographic straits that Mother Russia finds itself in. According to the projections of the UN Population Division–we are speaking here of the so-called “low variant,” historically the most accurate–the Russian population will shrink by more than 30 million by mid-century if current trends continue. The population will age rapidly, from an average age of 37.9 in 2010 to and average age of 49 by 2050. In other words, most Russians will be beyond their childbearing years, and Russia’s demographic fate will be sealed.

The economy will follow the population into the tank. No economy can thrive when a population is moribund, filling more coffins than cradles.

This is not the first time that Putin has urged his fellow citizens to be prolific. In fact, he has been working more than a decade to reverse his country’s demographic decline.

Back in 2005, Putin announced that Russian couples would receive the equivalent of $9,000 upon the birth of a second child or higher order child. While this baby bonus created a bump in the birth rate, the numbers of births have begun to level off again. Many couples have already reached their desired number of children, received their bonuses, and are aborting any subsequent children they conceive. Abortion is still occurring in epidemic proportions in Russia. The birth rate has remained slightly higher than before, but is still too low to offset population losses. Russia continues to lose several hundred thousands people a year.

Putin took the occasion of his annual State of the Nation address to issue a call for more children. “The three child family should become the norm in Russia,” he declared. Since the average Russian woman has only one child, this would mean a considerable increase in fertility. Along with encouraging Russian women to have more children, he said, Russia must also look for ways to support and help them once they have had the children.

Putin was vague about what this additional support might entail, but his administration is in discussions with pro-life and pro-family groups on this point.

For their part, hundreds of pro-life and pro-family organizations, together with large families and activists from all over the Russian Federation, are joining together into a National Parents Association (NPA).

The CEO of the fledgling NPA, Alexey Komov, says that “President Putin, in his inaugural address, gave a clear message to everyone: Three children must become the norm in Russia or the country will face a serious demographic challenge going forward. We at the NPA are promoting the natural family-a husband and wife and their natural or adoptive children–and are in dialogue with State authorities to define effective family and demographic policy.”

One major obstacle to raising the Russian birthrate is the prevalence of abortion. The average Russian woman has seven abortions in her lifetime. As long as society fails to recognize the value of human life, and wantonly destroys it in large numbers, it will be difficult to establish a new three-child norm. Abortion must cease being a way of life in Russia if her people are to survive.

Putin has given Russian families a tangible incentive, the baby bonus, to have children. He and his administration are now attempting to shift cultural norms in favor of the three-child family.

But whether or not he succeeds will depend upon pro-life and pro-family advocates like Alexey Komov, and their efforts to turn Putin’s exhortations and financial support into a nationwide movement. On their success hinges the fate of the Russian people.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Russia
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Remember the Arms Race? Maybe we could have a Baby Race.


1 posted on 12/19/2012 3:22:13 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o
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To: Mrs. Don-o

SEVEN abortions? EACH?? Haven’t these people heard of birth control???


2 posted on 12/19/2012 3:28:06 PM PST by bigdaddy45
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To: Mrs. Don-o
More interesting Putin news, and I can’t find a reason to criticize this.
3 posted on 12/19/2012 3:29:13 PM PST by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: Mrs. Don-o

Putin was born a Communist and totalitarian. I highly doubt that it is in his DNA to give the Russian people, local communities, non-governmental organizations and the Orthodox Church real freedom and power, which would could overcome the culture of death that has existed in Russia for the last 100 years.

The fact that he thinks he can tinker with subsidies and tax-benefits and automatically produce more children is proof of his thinking.


4 posted on 12/19/2012 3:34:04 PM PST by PGR88
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To: Mrs. Don-o; Ezekiel

No, they will not. Neither will the United States. The experiment in which government replaces the family, whether it’s called “Communism” or “a social safety net,” is a failure. Like the Children of Israel leaving Egypt, it will take at least a full generation for the lessons to be assimilated.

The old, now, will suffer most, and in the long run (in which we are all dead, as the cheerful economist said) something new will emerge.


5 posted on 12/19/2012 3:38:51 PM PST by Tax-chick (Do you know why I love reptiles? It's because they don't play guitars.)
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To: Mrs. Don-o

Well, if that doesn’t work then they’ll resort to ethnic cleansing.

Russians hate Muslims, and will resort to genocide rather than let the Muslim and Turkic minorities overtake them.

They aren’t politically correct, after all it was a psychological weapon they invented to use against the West.


6 posted on 12/19/2012 3:41:56 PM PST by Shadow44
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To: Navy Patriot

Putin loves Russia, he sees a bigger picture and the threats Russian faces and tries ot do something about it rightly or wrongly.

Look at the fairy we have, the metrosexual Chicago layabout who has only got where he is through cheating, rigged elections and his readical pals plus his color.
Our so called leader is a fairy, loves his anus feces poking pals, wants more killing babies, puts the future of out country into debt and wants to destroy what made the country great , oh and make sure white man is a minority by the time he has finished.

Putin is a guy, thinks guys should be guys, women shoudl be women, tries to make the country stronger and he has, protects what Russia is and keep traditions etc, tells the pansies at the UN to piss off and they do.

Putin must laugh his balls off at the tulip picker we have


7 posted on 12/19/2012 3:42:37 PM PST by manc (Marriage =1 man + 1 woman,when they say marriage equality then they should support polygamy)
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To: Shadow44

After Beslan, the Russians don’t care too much about the rights of Muslims.


8 posted on 12/19/2012 3:55:47 PM PST by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults.)
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To: Tax-chick

Earlier this week there was a thread saying that for the first time in
Many years the birthdate exceeded the death rate
.
That could mean thT the old people have died off to thepoimt of reaching a Susstaijable living level

The difference was notl thT great but it was

Tina


9 posted on 12/19/2012 3:56:19 PM PST by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 .....The fairest Deduction to be reduced is the Standard Deduction)
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To: manc

Just send ICE deportees over for a few years. He will be screaming for them to stop populating within no time...; )


10 posted on 12/19/2012 3:57:19 PM PST by jsanders2001
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To: Mrs. Don-o

I think the Russians are out of time.

China with its huge population and need for water is quietly moving into Siberia through migratory farming on leased Russian land. I expect that the Russian East will become China North by attrition in a few decades.

Despite the friendly economic cooperation between Russia and China now, the sheer demographics will play a huge part.

“Approximately six million people live in the entire Russian Far East (Eastern Siberia), while more than 90 million Chinese live in China’s northern provinces. Only about 40,000 to 75,000 of these live in the Russian Far East (although, since reliable statistics are difficult to come by, this number might actually be larger). Siberia seems an ideal place for China to relieve some of the population pressure and overcrowding. Moreover, most experts estimate that between 50 and 70 million Chinese peasants lack adequate agricultural lands of the type that can be found in Russia in former collective farms, where the Russians themselves are now reluctant to work.”

http://hir.harvard.edu/will-china-colonize-and-incorporate-siberia


11 posted on 12/19/2012 4:10:44 PM PST by OpusatFR
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To: manc
Putin loves Russia and has an affinity for Slavic peoples

This seems to be the case from the actions that Putin takes.

These news stories seem to reflect well on Putin even though most of the western press hate him and try to demonize him like they do the American right.

Russia has a difficult recovery ahead and has a better chance if we will just keep ourselves saddled with Zer0 and the Marxist DemoRat leftist slime coalition.

We will reduce our ability to compete and we will allow economic openings for Russia to exploit.

Also, the other economic players will not be on our side, Europe wants America just to pay their debts, Africa the same. Eastern Europe will align entirely with Russia, we can't protect them OR bully them anymore because of the new Russia.

China is the new boss, and the boss makes the rules. The US will see permanent UN Security Council vetoes from here on out. The Arabs will be happy as long as we pay astronomically for their oil and be unpaid mercenaries for their Caliphate.

You're right, Putin must really be enjoying this, our Socialists have come home to roost.

12 posted on 12/19/2012 4:19:48 PM PST by Navy Patriot (Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)
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To: Mrs. Don-o
The Russian Women I've met were
openly distainful of Drunken Russian Men

Why would one marry and raise children
where the Men are abusive drunken sots
with short life spans


13 posted on 12/19/2012 4:25:57 PM PST by HangnJudge
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To: OpusatFR

yup, just a matter of time.

Same for the U.S.


14 posted on 12/19/2012 4:29:16 PM PST by onona (Twenty Nine Palms)
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To: Tax-chick; PGR88; HangnJudge

Godless societies do not reproduce. They have no hope for the future.


15 posted on 12/19/2012 4:34:22 PM PST by Pining_4_TX (All those who were appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:48)
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To: OpusatFR

Siberia is Siberia. Do you really think the Chinese can make do at those temperatures?


16 posted on 12/19/2012 4:39:17 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: Tax-chick

Russia can recover, provided they re-adopt the values that allows for love of children and population growth. It may take them having to lose half their population before that happens, but it can be done.


17 posted on 12/19/2012 4:46:27 PM PST by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults.)
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To: Pining_4_TX

That’s pretty much what I meant!


18 posted on 12/19/2012 4:48:56 PM PST by Tax-chick (Do you know why I love reptiles? It's because they don't play guitars.)
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To: Tax-chick

I know. Great minds think alike! :-)


19 posted on 12/19/2012 4:53:46 PM PST by Pining_4_TX (All those who were appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:48)
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To: Jonty30
Russia can recover, provided they re-adopt the values that allows for love of children and population growth.

Well, that's true, in a way. Starting from a much lower baseline, Russians could become a growing ethnic group again. The same could be said of Japan. Although we say that no society has ever recovered from the kind of demographic decline we're presently seeing, that's not, in most cases, because the ethnicity completely disappears. It's because someone else fills the void.

If what we now call "Russians" or "Japanese" are reduced in number by half or more, what we now call "Russia" and "Japan" isn't going to remain unpopulated forever. In the long run, a demographically healthy group will move in.

20 posted on 12/19/2012 4:54:03 PM PST by Tax-chick (Do you know why I love reptiles? It's because they don't play guitars.)
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