Vladimir Putin’s calls for more children, restrictions on abortions, and attempts to impose “traditional values” have failed to pull Russia out of its demographic decline.
In the first quarter of 2026, according to estimates made by a demographer consulted by the independent Russian publication, 272 thousand children were born, 6% less compared to the same period in 2025, writes The Moscow Times.
The number of births has thus recorded the lowest level since the beginning of the 19th century.
The demographic decline of Russia is even more abrupt when comparing data from 2026 with that of 2021, the last year before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Thus, the birth rate has dropped by 12.5% compared to the first quarter of 2021 and by 38% compared to the same period in 2014 – a year in which a record birth rate was registered and in which Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula, writes
Over the past eight years, Russia has lost four million citizens.
The estimates regarding birth data were made independently by demography specialist Alexei Rakșa, as the official demographic data from the Russian Federation have been classified since the spring of 2025 – since then, the Russian state has not published any kind of data regarding the number of births, or mortality.
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