Russia Culture General

I read the link you posted and here is what was said at the bottom of the page "This year, over 85,000 young women applied to participate in the pageant, which has been held since 1993. According to the rules, only unmarried and childless Russian women between the ages of 18 to 23 are eligible to compete."

It sounds extremely based.
 

Russia needs to create an incentives based system for dealing with childless couples and even singles. Hungary has had great success with this.

Kremlin pours cold water on proposed ‘tax on childlessness’​

RT3-4 minutes

The measure has been widely debated by Russian MPs amid efforts to boost the birth rate in the country

A tax on childlessness is unlikely to solve Russia’s demographic problems, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The country has been plagued by a declining birth rate for years. In 2023, only 1.264 million children were born in Russia, the lowest since 1999, according to Rosstat.

The proposed tax entered the spotlight earlier this month, after Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev, a member of the State Duma Defense Committee, suggested reviving the Soviet-era policy of taxing people who don’t have children, arguing that the money raised could be used to modernize orphanages.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov said the Kremlin does not yet know the specific details of the proposal, which makes it difficult to form an opinion on it.

“It is important to know the details of the proposal, we don’t yet know what it involves,” he stated, adding that lawmakers should take time to analyze the Soviet efforts on the policy first before rushing through legislation.

Moscow university pitches higher taxes for the ‘childless’
“We need to analyze that experience. At first glance, this tax had hardly any impact on the demographic situation. Although this matter should first be studied by experts,” Peskov said.

The tax was introduced in the USSR to stimulate population growth after the country suffered huge losses in World War II. It was in effect from 1941 to 1992 and applied to men aged 20-50 and married women aged 20-45 who did not have children. The tax rate varied around 6%, depending on income.

The idea of reviving the tax has sparked heated debate among lawmakers. Russian State Duma MP Evgeny Popov said earlier this month that the country should instead introduce a “tax on stupidity.”

Nina Ostanina, the head of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, warned that the measure could “traumatize” young Russians, arguing that many people put off having children for financial reasons. Some MPs noted that there are medical issues that can prevent people from having children, while others argued that providing housing, good wages, and social guarantees to young families is a better way to boost the birth rate.

Commenting on Gurulev’s proposal, State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin urged lawmakers to “avoid ill-considered initiatives and extremes,” so as not to “frighten people.” He stressed that no one will violate the right of women to choose whether or not to have children.
 
The tax was introduced in the USSR to stimulate population growth after the country suffered huge losses in World War II. It was in effect from 1941 to 1992 and applied to men aged 20-50 and married women aged 20-45 who did not have children. The tax rate varied around 6%, depending on income.

The idea of reviving the tax has sparked heated debate among lawmakers. Russian State Duma MP Evgeny Popov said earlier this month that the country should instead introduce a “tax on stupidity.”
Russia has lotteries, doesn't it? Lotteries are essentially this, or at least a tax on people who are bad at math.
 
www.rt.com /russia/607923-lgbt-attitudes-levada-poll/

Poll shows Russians’ changing attitudes to LGBT​

RT3-3 minutes

Some 44% of those surveyed said that they view gays and lesbians with “disgust and fear”

More than a half of Russians hold a negative opinion on LGBT people, a poll by the Levada Center has revealed.

The survey, the results of which were published on Monday, took place between October 24 and 30 and involved 1,617 people from 137 cities, towns and villages across Russia.

"Negative attitudes towards LGBT people in Russia are growing,” the Levada Center, which is listed as a foreign agent in the country, said on its website.

According to the study, 44% of respondents view gays and lesbians with “disgust and fear,” another 15% are irritated by them, and are 10% wary of such people.

Some 26% described their attitude on the issue as calm and non-emotional. Those with positive feelings about the LGBT community comprised only 1%, while 0% said they were interested in sexual minorities, the poll found.

The number of respondents expressing disgust or fear over sexual minorities is 17% higher than a similar study from 2013, when the figure was 27%, the Levada Center noted.

Over the last five years, the proportion of Russians who do not agree with the notion that gays and lesbians should enjoy the same rights as other citizens has been steadily growing, currently totalling 62%, according to the study.

Almost two thirds of respondents (62%) told the Levada Center that they were concerned that their children or grandchildren could become victims of gay propaganda.

More than a half of those surveyed (59%) said that they would communicate less or stop communicating altogether with their acquaintances if they found out they were homosexual, the study said.

According to the poll, a tenth of respondents confirmed that they know somebody who is gay or lesbian.

A ban on disseminating LGBTQ material among those aged under 18 was introduced in Russia in 2013. In 2022, the legislation was expanded to include both minors and adults.

Last year, Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed the “international LGBT public movement,” designating it an extremist organization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously clarified that the authorities do not have any issues with what members of the gay community do in their personal lives, as long as they “don’t flaunt it” in public and do not involve children.
 
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