Posted on 11/04/2010 7:19:59 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
A baby going for a ride in a city park. Sales of children’s goods like his carriage are soaring as the birthrate rises.
Thanks to a demographic blip and some help from the state, the birthrate is rising in Russia, and the market for children's products is following suit, with imports playing the dominant role.
The market is growing by 15 percent a year, said Antonina Tsitsulina, president of the Children's Goods Industry Enterprises Association. Imports account for 65 percent of all sales, while the biggest overall segment is clothes and shoes, which make up 44 percent of total sales.
"Russia's positive socio-economic development and its state policy on the family and children are directly reflected in the development of the children's goods market," Tsitsulina said, adding that the market is now worth $14.5 billion.
Tsitsulina's optimism differs radically from demographic discussions of even five years ago, when concerns over the aging population and falling birthrate were so high that they were the main topics addressed in President Vladimir Putin's 2006 state-of-the-nation speech.
There was a demographic spike in the Soviet Union between 1980 and 1987, Tsitsulina said. People born during that time will be at their peak reproductive age between 2007 and 2015, resulting in a growing number of young families.
In 2009, the birthrate in Russia showed a 2.8 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Health and Social Development Ministry, and that trend is continuing. Putin noted in June that the birthrate had risen by 1.3 percent in the first four months of this year alone.
(Excerpt) Read more at themoscowtimes.com ...
On the whole I guess this is good news.
A greater population of ethnic Russians lessens both the chance of a muslim takeover and the desire of China to test their chances in the east.
At this point with our armed forces stretched thin and about to facing budget cuts we need to aim for stability in the coming decades at all costs.
I’ll happily contribute if I can have some time with Anna Chapman
One thing we have to give Putin credit for, he recognized the demographic threat to the group that created his nation, then he talked about it openly. Seems he got some results.
Leaders in other nations should do the same.
That Putin is one virile stud.
He could have done his more babies campaign without all those vain photographs. Politicians should remain fully clothed in public at all times.
We need the same to happen here... but I won’t hold my breath waiting for BHO to advocate Americans increase the birth rate because 1) he’s a lib and libs think that people are what is wrong with the planet 2) he wants illegals to invade our country, what better way than to do it than with anchor babies.
I’d vote for the American version of him. He puts his own country first. Who cares what he’s wearing, or not, not to mention, a nice set of biceps is a nice set of biceps.
More Russian babies sounds good to me. I visited Russia in 1995. I must say, Russian children are absolutely beautiful, and their parents dress them up, comb their hair, and present them well to the public. I remember seeing kids on a field trip gathering near their bus. One blond boy I especially remember was all smiles as he noticed my camera, and was trying to look his handsomest for my picture. (I suppose Putin did that when he was little.)
Nice! So where do I sign up?
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