Kathrine Frich
Russia’s push to reverse its demographic decline has taken a sharper and more intrusive turn.
What was once framed as encouragement has increasingly become pressure, with women and girls at the center of a state-driven campaign to raise birth rates.
Over the past year, the Kremlin has moved from quiet policy changes to openly reshaping reproductive choices, blurring the line between public policy, religion and personal autonomy.
Growing pressure
Russia has intensified efforts to discourage abortions while steadily restricting access to them, according to women’s rights experts interviewed by the independent outlet 7×7.
Activists say the campaign has become more explicit and aggressive.
“In the name of boosting birth rates, authorities have spent the last year seeking to discourage women from having abortions,” said Irina Fainman, founder of the Emergency Contraception Storage Fund.
In November, a Russian Orthodox metropolitan in Saratov ordered that a priest be assigned to every women’s health clinic in the city.
Their role is to persuade women not to terminate pregnancies by framing abortion as a sin.
Clinics and coercion
Similar initiatives have appeared in other regions.
In the Vologda region, weekly prayer services have been held since December before an icon known as the “Helper in Childbirth,” according to 7×7.
Women seeking abortions are also required to attend counseling sessions.
In Chelyabinsk, psychologist Olga Nazarenko told local outlet 74.ru that she shows women a small figurine she calls an “embryo” and asks whether they are willing to turn away a child “knocking at their door.”
When partners attend together, she tells men they are the “foundation” of the family and that “if the man decides they should have the baby, the woman will give birth.”
Legal barriers
Regional governments have also adopted laws banning what they call “incitement to abortion.”
As of November 2025, such rules were in force in 24 regions and in St. Petersburg, according to The Insider.
Critics say the laws prevent doctors and relatives from giving full information or advice.
In December, a man in Saransk became the first person fined after offering to pay for an abortion for his partner.
Fewer options
Private clinics have increasingly stopped providing abortion services.
Clinics in 52 regions have fully or partially withdrawn the procedure, while in 15 regions abortions are available only in state hospitals, where counseling is mandatory.
Some women now travel long distances to obtain care.
One woman spent 50,000 rubles traveling from Vologda to Yaroslavl for the procedure, 7×7 reported.
‘Fashionable’ motherhood
At the same time, the Kremlin has promoted pregnancy as a social ideal.
President Vladimir Putin said in December 2025 that having children should become “fashionable.”
In 21 regions, authorities have introduced payments for pregnant students.
Critics warn this risks normalizing teenage pregnancy without addressing long-term consequences.
“Teenage pregnancy is not heroism, but a tragedy,” said State Duma deputy Ksenia Goryacheva.
Sources: 7×7, Meduza, The Insider
