Few Russian Couples Now Living Together Plan to Get Married Anytime Soon or Even Ever, New Poll Finds

Paul Goble

    Staunton, May 11 – Only 22 percent of Russian couples now living together plan to get married in the next year with more than a third of these saying that they do not plan to marry at any point in the future, according to a new Russian Field poll, whose findings represent a challenge to Putin’s promotion of traditional values.

     Of the 1600 Russians surveyed in this poll, 53 percent were married, 15 percent were living together without official registration, and 33 percent were living alone. Those between 30 and 59 are most likely to be married; those under 30, to be in unregistered unions (actualcomment.ru/brak-ne-v-planakh-2505120950.html).

    More bad news for the Kremlin came from the responses of Russians to another question: 89 percent of those married or living together said that they did not plan to have a child in the coming year. Ten percent said they did, and one percent indicated that they were ready to adopt.

    The most likely to plan to give birth or adopt of course are the members of younger age groups and also those with a family income above 80,000 rubles (800 US dollars) a month. Analysts suggest that this reflects more than just general economic difficulties but the sense that having children will lead to poverty (kommersant.ru/doc/7712466).