Russia Now has Third Highest Divorce Rate in the World, Sparking Debate on What Can Be Done

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Dec. 5 – The percentage of marriages in the Russian Federation that end in divorce is approaching 80 percent, according to Moscow experts, a figure that puts that country third among the states of the world and is sparking a debate on what if anything can be done to reverse it, Elena Rychkova says.

            As often with social problems in Russia, the Nakanune journalist says, officials and politicians have generally concluded that the most effective means is through the use of law, insisting that those thinking about divorce go through psychological counseling and pay fines if they go ahead with divorce anyway (nakanune.ru/articles/124159/

            But these legal measures do not appear to be working, Rychkova says, because they often can do little to solve either the personal or social problems that have  led to the breakdown of marriages – and that unless those are addressed, the number of divorces will likely increase and hence the number of children born continue to fall.

            Psychologists report some success for those who agree to counseling, but they note that those who agree to such a procedure voluntarily are certainly among the relatively small percentage of Russian couples who want to save their marriages but need a little help if they are to do so.

            Religious figures and sociologists now view the rising divorce rate and what can be done about it differently. The religious place the blame on the fact that unlike in the past when most Russians married very early and had little life experience, now, most marriages take place much later when individuals have had a chance to learn more about life.

            The sociologists in contrast say that the breakdown of the traditional Russian community at the end of tsarist times and the collapse of the social supports for family life, including free kindergartens and the like in Soviet times is to blame. Doing anything about either at least for the foreseeable future seems unlikely, and so divorces will grow whatever else Moscow does.

            That will push down further the birthrate, these experts suggest, and make Putin’s call for boosting fertility rates almost impossible to achieve anytime soon if ever.