"Our enemies are not asleep": Chelyabinsk has determined who is to blame for the declining birth rate.

From November 9th to 11th, the city hosted the Russian Economic Forum. One of the sessions was devoted to the relationship between economics and demography. Predictably, external forces were blamed for the demographic crisis. 

So, the senator of the Federation Council from the Chelyabinsk region Margarita Pavlova blamed "our enemies" for everything: "Demography is a convenient way to control the country, and our enemies are always on the alert. These processes are managed through perverse propaganda."

Archpriest of the Chelyabinsk Diocese Boris Krivonogov blamed the Barbie doll by calling it "an anti-state cult that does not promote having many children." He also emphasized that one can only “get” a cat or a parrot, and a child is “the fruit of love and God’s blessing.” 

Member of the Commission for the Support of Family Values ​​of the Public Chamber Oleg Apolikhin I am sure that problems with the birth rate in Russia arise because there are “too many egoists” in the country. 

"If the well-groomed speakers occasionally emerged from their fashionable living rooms to interact with the public, they'd surely learn a lot. We communicate with ordinary South Uralians constantly. Not one of them has yet admitted that unknown enemies, much less a Barbie doll, are preventing them from planning their children." 

— an independent blogger from Chelyabinsk responded to these statements Valentina Volkova.

The real obstacles, says the Chelyabinsk resident, are the "catastrophic state of affairs" in healthcare, cramped housing and living conditions, a lack of prospects and confidence in the future, problems with kindergartens and overcrowded schools, as well as rising prices. "That's why young families have to carefully weigh the pros and cons. This is what conscious parenting is all about," concludes Valentina.