MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, has adopted in the second and third readings a bill introducing fines for promoting a childfree way of life, in line with the punishment for promoting non-traditional sexual relations and gender reassignment.
The bill was introduced to the State Duma by a group of deputies and senators led by the speakers of both chambers of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin and Valentina Matviyenko in September, along with an initiative to ban public propaganda promoting voluntary childlessness.
The bill amends the Code on Administrative Offenses.
Under the new bill, propaganda about voluntarily not having children will be subject to the same penalties the code sets for putting out propaganda about non-traditional sexual relations and (or) preferences, as well as gender reassignment.
The bill sets a fine of up to 100,000 rubles ($1,021) for citizens, up to 200,000 rubles ($2,042) for officials. Legal entities will face a fine of up to one million rubles ($10,208) or administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
If the propaganda targets minors, the fines can be doubled. For spreading such propaganda in the media or on the Internet, the fine for citizens will be up to 200,000 rubles ($2,042), for officials - up to 400,000 rubles ($4,084), for legal entities - up to 4 million rubles ($40,835).
The maximum fine for spreading propaganda about voluntary childlessness will be up to five million rubles ($51,044), being applied to any legal entities targeting minors with such propaganda using the Internet or via the media. Likewise, in the same instance, citizens face a fine of up to 400,000 rubles ($4,084), officials - up to 800,000 rubles ($8,167).
The current sanctions will also apply to foreign citizens who promote childfree. For such actions, they face a fine of up to 100,000 rubles ($1,020) with administrative deportation from Russia or arrest for up to 15 days accompanied by deportation from the country. If we are talking about propaganda targeting minors via the Internet or other media, then the fine will range from 200,000 rubles ($2,041) to 400,000 rubles ($4,084). In this case, deportation is also stipulated.