Sergey Rybalchenko, head of the Public Chamber’s Demography Commission, has argued that bold steps are necessary to prevent Russia’s population from shrinking

In recent years, the country has seen negative natural population growth, falling from 149 million in 1993 to 146 million in 2025 despite an influx of immigrants and the unification of the country with Crimea in 2014 and four former Ukrainian regions in 2022

The country’s population is poised to decrease to 138.8 million people in 2046, according to the base-case scenario developed by the federal statistics agency Rosstat

A shorter education period would enable young people to reach adulthood and plan to have children for two years earlier,” Rybalchenko told TASS, explaining the initiative

Getting married and having children at a higher age is linked to a longer period of social maturation, the demographer pointed out. Young people only start to think about children by the age of 27, as they spend 17 years getting an education and dedicate an additional three years to social adaptation after finishing university, he explained

It is possible to cut the number of years spent in school from 11 to 10, so that students can dedicate five years to getting a higher education without sacrificing quality, the expert noted. Students completing 10 grades have demonstrated equivalent knowledge to those completing 11 grades, he said

Russian MP Vitaly Milonov, who is known for his staunch support of “traditional Russian values” and his vocal opposition to the “child-free” ideology, said that the idea was underdeveloped