Moscow Doesn’t Recognize Young Russians Aren’t Having Children Because They’re ‘Afraid’ to Do So, Khazin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 28 – Moscow is seeking to encourage young Russians by offering various incentives and benefits; but that approach won’t work, Mikhail Khazin says, because the real reason young people in the Russian Federation aren’t having children is because they are afraid to given the structure of the economy they must operate within.

            The Russian economist and commentator says that “it is no secret that our country’s birthrate is low because starting a family entails a whole host of problems; and young people are afraid” (province.ru/society/4494276-molodej-boitsya-mihail-hazin-otkrovenno-nazval-prichiny-pochemu-rossiyane-malo-rojayut/).

            Young Russians are afraid that they could lose out if they have children before they earn enough money to buy an apartment. But that doesn’t happen until they are 40 or 45; and by that time, they are too old to start a family and thus don’t, something that has sent the fertility rate down to 1.4 children per Russian woman per lifetime or lower.

            Fear of not being able to own an apartment and have a good life if they have children is thus the primary reason why young Russians are putting off having children and then in all too many cases not having children at all, Khazin says; and that is not only a demographic tragedy but the root cause of Russia’s labor shortage.

            Obviously, going back to a system in which young married couples lived with their parents isn’t an option: it is simply too difficult for them to do that and the housing in which their parents live is typically old and even decaying. And consequently, Moscow must face up to this and seek new ways to eliminate the not unreasonable fears young people have. 

            There is no question that Khazin is on to something: various surveys have shown that Russians who have children early as the Kremlin wants on average see a decline in their standard of living, something many potential parents aren’t willing to risk given all the other problems in Russian live now.

            But having identified the problem, Khazin offers no easy way out except to suggest that the widespread use of AI might be a way, although he acknowledges that the experience of other countries, including the US, suggest that artificial intelligence can be a two-edged sword, bringing benefits but also a variety of new problems.