STORY: Russia's lower house of parliament on Tuesday voted unanimously ... That's why people don't have kids, not because of something someone wrote somewhere." That sentiment was echoed by 40-year-old Yana, who declined to give her surname because of ...

Vladimir Putin wants the women of Russia to have more children, and the government took a big step toward making that wish formal on Tuesday. The nation's lower house of parliament approved a law that would ban "child-free propaganda,

Russia's lower house of parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday to ban what authorities cast as pernicious propaganda for a child-free way of life, hoping to boost a faltering birth rate. Official data released in September put the birth rate at its lowest in a quarter of a century while mortality rates are up as Moscow's war in Ukraine rages on.

The birth rate in Russia has fallen to its lowest level since 1999, with many blaming the war in Ukraine for the drop.