A right-wing Kremlin lawmaker has called for some 45,000 female prisoners in Russia to be released on “leave” to become pregnant in a bizarre attempt to reverse the country’s declining birth rate.
Valery Seleznev, deputy of the 8th State Duma, said in a recent interview that female prisoners who are capable of bearing children should be temporarily released to find a partner and bear children – a solution that he says is important to increase Russia’s population. in the middle of the war in Ukraine.
“The state can offer them a kind of deal where a woman’s prison term is interrupted and if she gives birth during such a ‘leave’, the remaining prison time is cancelled,” Seleznev, who is affiliated with Russia’s ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party, told mk.ru last week.
There are currently up to 45,000 women in Russian prisons, most of whom are serving sentences for minor offences, Seleznev claimed.
“We give men the opportunity, to leave prison early, to fight against a formidable enemy in the Northern Military District [military wing] based on the same principle of penance for the highest sin,” he told the media, referring to a Russian scheme that allows male prisoners to volunteer for military service in Ukraine in exchange for release.
There are an estimated 45,000 women in Russian prisons.AP
“Why do we prevent women from the opportunity to atone for their sins? We don’t need women to give their lives [the war],” Seleznev continued.
“But we need to urgently solve the main problem of the country’s future, which … risks slipping into a demographic hole that threatens its existence. And a woman can and cannot give her own life, but give a new one to her children.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin often refers to Russia’s shrinking population as one of the country’s main obstacles.
The country is home to an estimated 144.2 million people in 2023 – down from 148.5 million in 1991.
According to the United Nations, the worst-case scenario could see the country’s population drop to 83 million over the next two decades, Newsweek reported.
Valery Seleznev suggests temporarily freeing female prisoners so they can have children.AP
Earlier this year, Russia reported its lowest birth rate since World War II, Novaya Gazeta reported.
The country is also under pressure amid estimates of thousands of casualties in Ukraine, as well as the number of Russians fleeing the country to avoid conscription and other consequences of the conflict.
“The highest goal and destiny of a woman is to create a family and give birth to children,” Seleznev insisted to mk.ru — adding that the ex-convict could be an ideal mother for the country’s next generation.
“I think that many women, having gone on such a vacation for freedom, in an effort to fulfill the accepted holiday ‘duty’, will not only give birth to children, but will also strive to create a strong family. ,” he said.
The bodies of Russian soldiers lie on the front lines in Andriivka in September.AP
“After learning the complexities of life, they can be great mothers and devoted wives for their men. And if this woman starts a family, maybe with veterans and disabled people in the Northern Military District [wing of the military]this will be an atonement worthy of early forgiveness.”
Human Rights councilor and journalist Eva Merkacheva quickly slammed Seleznev’s idea as “wild.”
“The deputy’s initiative aims to ensure that women are really looking for a short-term partner,” he told mk.ru.
“What else can you do on a prison ‘vacation’? See you soon and sleep. In my opinion, this will create a lot of problems for [federal prison] system and for society as a whole,” he continued.
A soldier walks past the body of a Russian soldier who died on the front lines.AP
“If the deputy is wrong and we are not talking about ‘holiday,’ but generally pardoning women who will start a family in freedom, this initiative is good,” added Merkacheva.
“But this cannot be forced, and giving birth is not her responsibility. The state can offer women credit.”
Seleznev’s strange solution also came after fellow State Duma member Sultan Khamzaev earlier this month suggested that the government offer women payments as an incentive to prevent abortions, Newsweek said.
On November 12, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, proposed a complete nationwide ban to “encourage” women to terminate pregnancies, citing population decline as a serious factor, the outlet added.
“Russia really has a demographic problem,” Kirill said.
Before his stance against female prisoners, Seleznev made international headlines when his son, Roman Seleznev, was arrested and sentenced to 27 years in prison in the US for cybercrimes, rbc.ru reported in 2017.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
