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Russia pushes sex-at-work scheme as population crisis escalates

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Russia pushes sex-at-work scheme as population crisis escalates

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The Kremlin’s top doctor this week encouraged all Russians to engage in a “sex-at-work” scheme in a move to back President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to counter a growing population crisis.

Despite cash incentives, tax breaks, a nationwide push to discourage abortions and Putin’s years-long attempt to encourage procreation across the country, Russia saw its lowest birth rate in the last quarter-century for the first six months of 2024, reports said following UN findings on worldwide population rates.

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Speaking during a Eurasian Women’s Forum on Wednesday, Putin encouraged women’s role in the workplace, but he also reiterated his push for higher birthrates.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Eurasian Women’s Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia September 18, 2024.   (Sputnik/Grigory Sysoyev/Pool via REUTERS )

RUSSIA SEES HISTORIC POPULATION DROP SPURRING DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS AMID WAR IN UKRAINE

“Proper conditions are being created for women to succeed professionally while remaining guardians of the hearth and lynchpins of large families with many children,” he said, according to report by Newsweek.

The Kremlin chief reportedly said that women can cope with the load of being both a career-woman and a mother because they “possess a secret that men are unable to fathom.”

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When pressed by a female reporter about when women are supposed to find the time to manage a family, Russia’s Health minister Dr. Yevgeny Shestopalov said, “Being very busy at work is not a valid reason, but a lame excuse.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin hugs a crying baby as he greets local residents on March 6, 2020 in Ivanovo, 230 km east of Moscow. President Putin is having a one-day visit to Ivanovo.  (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

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“There are people who work 12 to 14 hours – when do they make babies?” Shestopalov was asked, according to a report by Metro. 

“You can engage in procreation during breaks,” he replied before adding, “Life flies by too quickly.”

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Female Russian lawmakers, including politicians Anna Kuznetsova and Zhanna Ryabtseva joined in on the push by encouraging women to maximize their childbearing years by starting families once they turn 18. 

One Russian Member of Parliament, Tatyana Butskaya, even encouraged employers to monitor the birth rates of their female staff members, reported Sky News Australia. 

Women in Moscow between the ages of 18 and 40 are also being encouraged to receive fertility testing.

A woman and a child walk past an armoured vehicle at a military base in Perevalnoye, near the Crimean city of Simferopol March 21, 2014.  (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)

“This new push for more Russian babies is consistent with the Russian government’s previous initiatives to improve demographics and increase the size of the future workforce,”  former DIA intelligence officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital. “While the Kremlin portrays Russia’s declining birth rates in Russia as ‘disastrous,’ in reality Russia’s demographics is not much different from those of most industrial countries.”

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The UN estimates that Russia’s population, which currently sits around 140.8 million, will fall by 10 million by 2054.

The United States Census Bureau reports that the number of children per woman in Russia is currently 1.5, though a birth rate of 2.1 is needed to sustain its current population rate, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, as reported by Newsweek.

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Video: ‘We Are Orphans’: Shiite Muslims Protest the Killing of Khamenei

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Video: ‘We Are Orphans’: Shiite Muslims Protest the Killing of Khamenei

new video loaded: ‘We Are Orphans’: Shiite Muslims Protest the Killing of Khamenei

Shiite Muslims around the world protested the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader and a senior Shiite Muslim cleric. He died on Saturday during U.S. and Israeli attacks on his country.

By Nader Ibrahim and Malachy Browne

March 1, 2026

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3 US service members killed, 5 seriously wounded in Iran operation

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3 US service members killed, 5 seriously wounded in Iran operation

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Three U.S. service members were killed and five others were seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday morning.

In addition, several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are in the process of being returned to duty, CENTCOM announced.

“The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified,” CENTCOM said.

Smoke rises over the city center after an Israeli army launches 2nd wave of airstrikes on Iran on Saturday.  (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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At least nine killed after Iranian strike on Israel’s Beit Shemesh

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At least nine killed after Iranian strike on Israel’s Beit Shemesh

BREAKING,

The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service says that 20 others were injured by the impact.

At least nine people have been killed after an Iranian missile strike on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, as Tehran continued to launch retaliatory attacks a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes.

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The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said on Sunday that nine people were killed and 20 other people were injured by the impact, including two in serious condition.

The Israeli military said in a statement that search and rescue teams, and a helicopter to evacuate those injured are currently operating in Beit Shemesh, with the army’s spokesperson adding that the circumstances of the impact from the Iranian ballistic missile are under review.

More to come …

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