Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
She has previously suggested paying Russians 1 million rubles per child born.
A powerful political figure in Moscow is demanding that the younger generation accomplish a massive array of life goals before hitting middle age.
The push comes from Valentina Matviyenko, who leads Russia’s upper house of parliament. According to the state-run TASS news agency, she believes that the legal classification for youth should firmly top out at thirty-five years.
Her expectations leave little room for delay, requiring citizens to secure career triumphs while simultaneously raising a large household.
“Some people are indeed proposing to extend the period of youth… I don’t think we should lower the threshold… I think the optimal solution is to 35, but I want young people to understand that by 35, or better yet, they need to start a family, have at least three children, be successful in their profession, and then move on to another age category,” Matviyenko said.
Bold corporate schemes
This intense public appeal follows a string of unconventional ideas floated by the same politician to reverse a collapsing birth rate. Previously, she championed a scheme to set up an elite group of businesses that would hand out a million rubles to any employee who welcomes a newborn.
She also called for a specialized government team focused entirely on tracking birth rates, alongside a push for families to ditch tiny urban flats. Instead, she urged citizens to relocate to large houses capable of holding five kids.
Data goes dark
Recent numbers show a grim outlook.
According to The Moscow Times, the state statistics service, Rosstat, revealed that annual births plunged to just 1.222 million recently, marking a historic low that mirrors conditions from the late 1990s. Independent calculations suggest the downward trend is only picking up speed.
Independent demographer Alexei Raksha noted that the opening months of this year brought the lowest quarterly birth numbers the region has witnessed in over two centuries. The typical family size has shriveled to historic depths.
Rather than addressing the underlying social issues, the government chose to hide the evidence. Official bodies completely classified the country’s population data, stopping all public reports regarding mortality rates and infant births.
