Russian government is weighing an audacious move to stem a declining population: a Ministry of Sex in Russia۔ The plan is said to be in the drawer of Nina Ostanina, head of parliamentary committee on Family Protection, aimed ostensibly to increase the declining rate of births in the country. Ostanina is a close ally of Putin and has been considering different propositions, among them those from the GlavPR agency, which formally submitted its appeal for the ministry.
Russian government may turn off electricity and internet between 10 PM to 2 AM
All these pushed the officials to think out of the box amid the demographic crisis worsened by the Ukraine war. The idea under the “Ministry of Sex” is turning off internet and electricity between 10 PM and 2 AM, a window of “forced intimacy,” which proponents of the idea say could make couples focus on family building.
Other plan benefits imply financial encouragement. The mother and child-caring welfare recipient can enjoy dividends on domestic labour in the form of pension. The state also considers complimentary administration-led romance, first dates free, with payouts that may rise as high as 5,000 roubles. In addition, the newlywed couple may get compensated for their wedding night hotel bill, fully paid off in the amount up to 26,300 roubles.
Ministry of sex in Russia to strategically force intimacy through programs
The proposed “Ministry of Sex” would also run local programs. So, for example, under such a scheme, to receive up to £900 per child, parents in Khabarovsk can send their first child to kindergarten, or to university, or start a business. But in Chelyabinsk, a first-born shoots up to £8,500. Local barons, like Dr Yevgeny Shestopalov, are even advising parents to take maternity and paternity leaves to “make babies.”
Public sector employees in Moscow are now getting hot-button policies. Female employees are being asked about their sexual and reproductive health. Those who refuse to respond are sent on medical check-ups. Authorities also launched free fertility testing, and tens of thousands of women enrolled in this program.
This proposal has caused controversy among participants who blur the lines between financial incentives and personal intervention by Russia as it tries to reverse population decline.
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