Russia saw a 10% drop in marriages last year despite state efforts to encourage citizens to start families, according to official datacited by the broadcaster RTVI.Around 950,000 marriages were registered in 2023 compared to 1.05 million the previous year, the outlet said, citing state statistics agency Rosstat.The year-on-year decline which was observed in every Russian region was sharpest in ethnic republics including Chechnya (36% fewer marriages), the Chukotka autonomous district (31%) and Dagestan (24%).Marriagessurged in 2022 after the Kremlin declared a partial mobilization of reservists for the war in Ukraine in September and some regions offered fast-track marriage registrations.
The partial draft and Russias invasion of Ukraine earlier that year triggered amass exodusof Russians abroad.In November 2023, President Vladimir Putinurged Russian women to revive the past practice of giving birth to seven, eight, or even more children.Large families must become the norm, a way of life for all Russias peoples, Putin said at an event organized by the Russian Orthodox Church.RTVI noted that some of the biggest drops in marriages were recorded in regions that the Defense Ministryhailed as the most successful at recruiting contract soldiers.Rosstatforecasts that low birth rates and declining immigration could cause Russias population to shrink from its current 146 million to around 130 million in the next two decades.