The lifestyle choice poses a threat to the country’s traditional values, Dmitry Deulin says
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Russia should revive the tax on childlessness which existed during the Soviet era, Dmitry Deulin, the dean of the Extreme Psychology department at Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, said in an interview with the Gazeta.ru news outlet, published on Tuesday.
According to Deulin, the ‘childless subculture’, which refers to people who intentionally refuse to have children, poses a threat to traditional values and impacts the birth rate in the country.
“We have repeatedly conducted research related to this phenomenon and came to the conclusion that it poses a huge danger to our society. In addition, sometimes the enthusiasm for the cult of childlessness reaches extreme forms, like full-blown hatred towards children,” he said, noting that in some cases, the latter phenomenon can lead to aggression against both children and pregnant and postpartum women.
Deulin proposed introducing measures to dissuade people from refusing to have children.
“It is necessary to effectively influence those organizations and citizens that distribute destructive content and promote childlessness. In Soviet times, for example, there was a tax on the absence of children. It is necessary to carefully study all the accumulated experience, including that of other countries,” he stated.
In addition to this, he noted, there should be educational programs aimed at boosting the appeal of having a family and children.
“Young people need to be taught the value of family relationships and the right example should be set,” Deulin said.
It is not the first time that the idea of taxing childless people has been raised in Russia. In December, lawmaker Evgeny Fyodorov also proposed reviving the tax, claiming the funds gained could be used to finance welfare programs for helping families with children.
The original tax on childlessness was adopted during World War II and existed until the break-up of the Soviet Union. It applied to men aged 20-50 and married women aged 20-45 who did not have children.
Russian demographics has been plagued by a plunging birth rate for years. According to preliminary statistics from the Federal State Statistics Service, 1.264 million children were born in Russia last year, a record low since 1999. According to an earlier report by RBK news outlet citing official birthrate projections, the number of births in Russia will continue to decline through at least 2026.
