"Today, no one thinks about a large family anymore. They give birth to one, at most two children, they think more about consumption and self-realization and want to go on vacation more often. The media promotes Western culture, and it is not good for Russia," Dmitry Cholkin, a father of eight children, told ARD.
When he was out with his five younger children, they often asked him if they were all his - without knowing that the Russian had three more. Usually, the question followed whether they were all from the same marriage.
"If we want to keep our country as a Christian Orthodox state, we need to have more children," adds his wife Olga. She remembers how 20 years ago a priest said that in order to survive as a nation, each woman should give birth to an average of eight children. "20 years ago that may have been true, but today even eight children are no longer enough", the Russian woman says with conviction.
Upbringing in patriotism
Olga is 45 years old, Dmitry - 47. They met at university. Their children are educated at home, which is allowed by the Russian education system. "We raise them in a patriotic spirit, and we also monitor who they communicate with." This is not possible at school, where they could encounter things that are not good for them, Olga tells the German publication.
When one of the children asks her what a “special military operation” is, the mother repeats the explanation given by Putin in 2022: Russia had to intervene because “the other side did not comply with the agreements”. She does not get more specific, but claims that the president's judgment can be trusted.
Six, seven, eight children as the norm
The Cholkini family is exactly what Putin would want: pious, patriotic, with many children. Six, seven, eight children – this should be the norm, as he himself has said in the past.
But the fact is that the Cholkini are an absolute exception, because Russia's population is rapidly declining. It is true that the birth rate is falling throughout Europe - but in Russia the curve is much steeper than elsewhere: since 2014 the birth rate has fallen by more than a third. The state is trying to counteract it with radical measures: abortions are becoming significantly more difficult, female students receive bonuses if they give birth early, and voluntary childlessness is considered a vice.
The revived myth of the "heroine mother"
Putin even restored the Soviet order "Heroine Mother" - for women with ten or more children. In early June, state television broadcast one of the ceremonies, at which in the magnificent "Catherine Hall" In the Kremlin, one by one, the mothers were solemnly called to the stage to receive their order personally from President Putin, ARD reports.
Among the awardees was Sima Karkusova from Ossetia, who gave birth to 15 children. They all came out with her for a group photo with the president. After which Karkusova turned to the host with the words: “Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, we thank you for restoring this tradition. May God grant you blessings, strength, health and wisdom”, quotes part of her speech by the German public media.
Hard-to-access data
For years, Putin has perceived population growth as his historical mission. But it has been decreasing with each passing year of his term. However, the pace at which this has been happening recently is a secret – Since the beginning of 2025, the state statistics service has published only scant data on demographic development.
This is also due to the war. Anyone who mentions, for example, the number of soldiers who died risks getting into trouble - for example, being declared a "foreign agent", which in practice also means a ban on work, says Alexey Raksha, one of Russia's leading experts in the field of demography.
According to him, "absolutely all data is now classified: what is the mortality rate, how many births, marriages, divorces - everything is under lock and key. Only the birth rate is published, that is, how many children a woman gives birth to on average in each region. This indicator is mentioned because it is officially one of the criteria for evaluating governors: if a region has poor results, the governor can be fired," says the Russian demographer.
War accelerates the negative trend
The fertility rate in Russia is 1.34 - that is, a little more than one child per woman. This is an average for Europe, where the birth rate is also generally low. But with each passing year of Russia's war against Ukraine, fewer and fewer children are being born. And for years, the number of deaths has exceeded the number of births. Statistically speaking, people in Russia die earlier than elsewhere in Europe.
"This was the case before the war, but it accelerated the trend", says Raksha. According to his calculations, Russia is already losing between seven and eight hundred thousand people a year. "For Putin, this should be a real catastrophe", the demographer commented. However, no one is publicly saying that the war is playing any role in this, the German public broadcaster ARD also notes.
Author: Ina Ruck ARD