‘Traditional’ Large Families were Destroyed in Russia a Century Ago in Soviet Times, Demographer Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 21 – What many call “traditional” large multi-child families were a casualty of Soviet development rather than being the product of the changes in the Russian Federation that have taken place since 1991, according to Vladimir Kozlov, a Russian demographer who now works at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan.

            The failure to recognize this fact means that many continue to believe that pro-natalist policies have a far greater chance of success than they do, he continues. Instead of that mistaken belief, Moscow should develop infrastructure to deal with smaller families as the norm (novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/05/21/rozhdaemost-v-rossii-nachala-snizhatsia-eshche-v-1930-e).

            Kozlov is blunt in his criticism of the general view in Russia. His country, he says, “is a developed country especially when it comes to birthrates. We in general are pioneers. The traditional family in Russia was destroyed already a century ago … in Soviet times” not by any turbulence since then.